The
fire siege of 2003 that began October
21, 2003
is beginning to diminish with the cool wet weather southern
California is now experiencing. After reflecting on the activity over
the past ten days, Fire Chief Tom Tisdale is extremely proud of the
accomplishments of the men and women who work for CDF/Riverside County Fire
Department.
During
the fire siege, CDF/Riverside County Fire Department sent the following
resources to the fires in San
Diego,
Los
Angeles,
and San
Bernardino
Counties:
*59 Fire Engines--10 Strike Teams (5 fire engines and a
leader each) and 9 single increments
*15 Hand Crews--6 Strike Teams (2 hand crews and a leader
each) and 3 single increments
*136
Overhead Personnel--Overhead serve in management functions in support of
suppression resources
In
all, CDF/Riverside County Fire Department sent 635 fire personnel (including
inmate firefighters) to support the battle in neighboring Counties. It is
important to note that during this time, the normal emergency call volume within
Riverside
County and its contract cities remained at its normal average of
280 calls per day (3,126 calls during the fire siege). These calls included
medical aids, traffic accidents, structure fires, etc.
Although extremely strong and dry Santa
Ana
winds existed in Riverside
County
during the fire siege, the number of fires and their sizes were kept relatively
low. This is due to the hard and diligent work of the firefighters who remained
in Riverside
County
to protect its citizens. There were three significant fires within
Riverside
County
during the fire siege: the Pass Fire in Reche
Canyon, the Mountain
Fire near Temecula, and the Wellman
Fire near Anza. CDF/Riverside County Fire Department, with assistance from other
local fire departments, Riverside County Sheriffs Department, and California
Highway Patrol, was able to contain these fires in relatively short periods of
time with minimal injuries to civilians and firefighters. All of the municipal Fire Departments in the County,
including the Tribal Fire Departments and March Air Force Base Fire Department
pitched in with personnel and equipment to respond to new emergencies. American
Medical Response (AMR) formed two strike teams of ambulances (five ambulances
and a supervisor each) and staged them for rapid response to emergencies.
During the fire
siege, CDF/Riverside County Fire Department called back all fire personnel to
active duty and staffed 53 reserve and brush engines. In addition, every squad,
breathing support, and water tender in the CDF/Riverside County Fire Department
fleet was covered with either paid or volunteer staff.
CDF/Riverside
County Fire Department activated its Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) in
Riverside
and Indio to coordinate disaster relief efforts in affected areas.
The Public Information Center was staffed 24/7 with personnel who posted current
information on the department’s website (www.rvcfire.org) and answered the
public’s phone calls requesting information about existing or potential
emergencies within the County (909 940-6985). The RACES team, under the
direction of the Emergency Services Division, assisted CDF/Riverside County Fire
Department by performing Red Flag Patrols throughout the County so that fires
could be reported and responded to early.
In
all, the County
of Riverside
came through this round of the 2003 fire siege relatively unscathed. This is the
direct result of the diligence and dedication of CDF/Riverside County Fire
Department with the support of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors,
Riverside County Fire Chiefs Association, Riverside County Sheriffs Department,
and the California Highway Patrol.
Fire
Chief Tom Tisdale would like to assure the visitors and residents of
Riverside
County
that they should feel secure in the knowledge that they are protected, even
during the worst fire siege in the history of California.
