Mountain-area fire agencies and law enforcement personnel are readying for fire, especially in light of the potential for fire conditions given recent weather. On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Fire Department, the Crest Forest Fire District, the Running Springs Fire Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department – Twin Peaks Station, and the Arrowhead-area personnel of the California Highway Patrol participated in a training scenario involving a fast-moving fire within the mountain communities. The training included issues that have occurred in local fires in the past, and issues recently encountered in the Santa Barbara fires. Some of the issues addressed included evacuation routes, routing resources, communications, and agency roles and responsibilities. Several of the command staff with prior experience from past fires noted how realistic and similar it was to past fire incidents, the most significant in recent years including the Butler #2, Slide and Grass Valley Fires of the fall of 2007. Fire agencies involved in the September 29 fire training scenario remind residents to be familiar with evacuation routes, have essential papers ready to go, decide beforehand which photographs are important, plan alternate people to get children from school, designate a family meeting area, and have a plan for your pets.
