Cambria to host Central Coast fire drill
There’ll be lot of fire engines and emergency vehicles in Cambria from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 5. But residents should be encouraged by the assemblage, rather than dismayed, according to officials planning a daylong rehearsal for fire crews.
Eric Shalhoob (a Cal Fire battalion chief who also is the interim manager of Cambria Fire Department) told the Cambria Community Services District Board of Directors on March 24 that he expects participants from all local fire and Cal Fire departments countywide and a strike team of five engines from Santa Barbara County.
The annual drill — officially dubbed a Wildland-Urban Interface Preparedness Exercise — will focus on specific areas where neighborhoods and open spaces meet, such as upper Lodge Hill, Lodge Hill parallel to Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and Pineknolls, Shalhoob said in an informational letter he plans to distribute soon to residents there.
Should local firefighters need help battling a blaze in those areas, it’s helpful for out-of-town crews to know where hot spots could be and the location of nearby resources to help fight the fire.
The letter is to go to residents who will be most affected: those who live along Burton, Pineridge and Hillcrest drives; Warren Road; Victoria, Manor and Greystone ways; Iva Court; and Tipton, Trenton, Northhampton and Suffolk streets.
He said those locations “are packed with vegetation, which can quickly become fuel in a wind-driven wildland fire,” and that he’s pleased by the choice of these locations, as they expose “many emergency responders to one of the most challenging wildland interface regions in San Luis Obispo County.”
Shalhoob added, “The public will have full access to the open space during our exercise, and no roads will be closed.”
He assured residents that “there will be no actual burning of vegetation. All hose-deployment and line-construction operations will be based on simulation.”
The training is conducted in cooperation with the SLO County Fire Training Officers Association.
Public event
The Cambria Fire Focus Group also is finalizing plans for a concurrent public event, to be held at the parking lot of the Santa Rosa Catholic Church, 1174 Main St.
According to one of the organizers, Susan McDonald, the “Wildfire Awareness Week Community Fair” likely will include demonstrations, informational and service booths, interactive displays and safety opportunities, such as the ability to have refillable fire extinguishers inspected and recharged by Mid-Coast Fire Protection of Atascadero.
Drill details
In addition to activities throughout targeted areas, drill participants also will be using the Veterans Memorial Building and Rodeo Grounds areas.
For details, call Cambria Fire at 927-6340.
This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 8:38 AM with the headline "Cambria to host Central Coast fire drill."