More Firefighters are Approved for Communities at Risk (Hesperia Star 080306) SB Supervisors Approved $500.000 for more help

I am happy that the County Supervisors found an extra half million sitting around to hire and put an team of fire fighters on in the high fire Threat area's Such as the area's that have the trees that are all dead around them, fawnskin for example, the Bark Beetle has gone to work there and killed over 50% maybe 70% of the tree's and they will not grow back. In the mean time, the county is doing what they can along with the state to cut down the trees and clear the area of the danger. In the mean time the only thing that the trees can be used for is fire wood, because use for anything else would mean that they would have to have some green left in them. Such as regular building lumber, You cannot cut dead wood for lumber to build a home. doesn't work.

BSRanch

More firefighters are approved for communities at risk

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors last week unanimously approved supplemental funds in the amount of $500,000 for the County Fire Department to provide additional firefighter staffing during the six-month fire season.

Mountain and foothill communities served by the County Fire Department will soon see more firefighters in their communities thanks to today’s action. The communities include Angelus Oaks, Grand Terrace, Fawnskin, Forest Falls, Joshua Tree, Lytle Creek, Lucerne Valley, Phelan, San Antonio Heights, and Wrightwood.

Steep terrain and dense vegetation in mountain and foothill communities accelerate the spread of fires and place the communities at higher risk during fire season, making the need for a rapid and well-prepared firefighting response especially important. In addition to these conditions, the ongoing bark beetle tree mortality emergency in the local mountains continues to pose a significant threat. These factors draw attention to the need to ensure the county’s fire stations are adequately staffed for initial callouts of reported fires.

“This capability will help ensure that fires can be effectively addressed by responding fire crews before fires get out of hand,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus. “Recent fires throughout our county demonstrate how vital these extra firefighters are.”