A large scale, wildland-urban interface fire exercise will be held Thursday morning, May 22, in the Idyllwild and Pine Cove communities. Organized by the Riverside County Fire Chief’s Association, the exercise will allow fire, law enforcement and animal service agencies to field-simulate a major fire rapidly approaching the two communities. The exercise will focus on…
Fire totally destroyed a home on Village View Dr. before sunrise Easter morning. Idyllwilld Fire Captain James Reyes was the incident commander. He the loss was total and the neighbor saved the occupant’s life, Reyes added. At approximately 2:30 a.m. Paul Colucci was awakened when his neighbor, Robert Peek came to his door. Colucci’s house…
After five months of the fiscal year, Idyllwild Fire Department has spent about 47 percent of its projected budget. Total expenditures through November were about $800,000, of which nearly 70 percent ($563,000) was for salaries and benefits.
Operating procedures and policies were the topic of last week’s fire commission special meeting and workshop. Commissioner Jerry Buchanan and Interim Fire Chief Mike Sherman presented draft policies, which Buchanan had received from the California Special District Association. “Purchasing Policy” was the first policy, which the commission reviewed. In all, the commission went over 16…
After a nearly four hour budget workshop, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) commission recognizes the perilous financial condition of the district. “The best case is November, but it could be August or as early as April,” former Crest Line Fire Chief Mike Sherman told the commission. He was referring to the possibility of the…
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District has scheduled a special budget workshop for 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan 7. The session will be in the district’s conference room. The meeting was originally set for 8 a.m., but is at 10 a.m. Saturday. The agenda reads “Budget workshop with Commissioners and candidate for interim-Chief position, Ret-Chief Michael Sherman.”
In a special meeting, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) commission adopted changes to the District’s contract with Idyllwild Career Firefighters Association (ICFA). The amendments for fiscal year 2011-2012 budget are expected to reduce the agency’s salary and benefits costs almost $37,000, according to Commissioner Ben Killingsworth. Nevertheless, the preliminary budget adopted last week still…