In response to the National Weather Service’s declaration of a Fire Weather Warning, San Bernardino County Fire Department will be increasing its initial attack resources as well as adding additional firefighters to its deployment plan.
Beginning Sunday morning, County Fire will augment the on-duty personnel at its interface stations and transition from a Low to a Medium dispatch response to all Vegetation Fires which occur in the Valley and High Desert Divisions.
This essentially doubles the number of fire apparatus initially sent to a fire and adds firefighters to those units assigned to the response. Dozer teams and Hand Crews will also be on alert for rapid deployment to any starts which may occur.
This “upstaffing” will be in place for the duration of NWS warning and will be continually evaluated by Command Staff throughout the event. Taking place Sunday, January 12 through Tuesday, January 14, 2014.
The goal of adding additional personnel and units is to catch vegetation fires in their early stage, aggressively attack, and ultimately contain the blaze before weather conditions carry the fire beyond the capability of initial attack resources.
A message from San Bernardino County Fire Department:
[box type=”info” ]We all enjoy the beautiful weather for which Southern California is famous. This unseasonably warm weather invites many residents and visitors to the outdoors. Please be aware that while daytime highs are quite comfortable, we are still experiencing cold nighttime temperatures. The lack of rainfall and snowpack have held the fuel beds in critically dry conditions. Unattended campfires, discharging of firearms, or discarding of cigarette butts into receptive fuels will still ignite large fires.[/box]
Please enjoy this unseasonably warm weather responsibly.
Source: SBCFD
