3 days ago
O.C. Fire Watch volunteers are at the ready as the season for ‘devil winds' approaches
To spark more interest from the public as high fire season approaches, bringing with it the promise of Santa Ana or 'devil winds' — and in light of recent devastating California wildfires — officials and volunteers with the Orange County Fire Watch program conducted a mock deployment for the media Wednesday morning at Pacific Ridge Trailhead in Newport Beach.
'We want to get information out before the real windy season and raise awareness ahead of the wildfire season when conditions are really dry,' said Scott Graves, communications manager for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 'The demonstration of what a typical Orange County fire would look like is part of the reason for holding the event.'
The Fire Watch program is administered by the conservancy along with its partners, OC Parks, the cities of of Irvine and Newport Beach, and the Orange County Fire Authority.
The IRC and OCFA work together to facilitate the volunteer program, which currently boasts more than 300 trained volunteers in 36 locations.
Their mission is to reduce catastrophic wildfires through education, early reporting and deterrence. The volunteers and staff are deployed to areas that are prone to wildfires and monitor for potential danger such as dense brush growth and trailheads.
'They are activated during red flag warnings and Santa Ana winds,' said Renalynn Funtanilla, Fire Watch program coordinator.
'The truth is, this is a community issue and requires a community response,' Graves said.
He added that providing visual and early detection assistance such as reporting potential arson activity goes beyond the Fire Authority and the Fire Watch program.
'It's on all of us to try to prevent wildfire ignitions, especially during high wind events,' he said.
Four of the program's volunteers participated Wednesday in the mock deployment question- and-answer event. Yang Fei, a seven-year volunteer, said he keeps his eyes out for fire ignition and reports it 'to protect the nature.'
Retiree Phil Sallaway has been a volunteer for two and half years. He explained he mostly works at the operations center where he helps monitor the ham radios.
'I've also been stationed at Santiago Canyon Road, a Fire Watch location where we educate the public about red flag days,'said Sallaway. 'We also observe and report fires and trespassers.'
Mary Handfield, a frequent park visitor, received information about the Fire Watch volunteer program as a result of subscribing to the O.C. Parks mailing list.
'I signed up for the four-hour training class and joined the volunteer program six months ago,' Handfield said. 'The only deployment I've been on was on the Fourth of July at Carbon Canyon in Brea.' Her assignment was to watch for fires and to log in what she witnessed, for example, someone going off a trail or suspicious activity.
'I'm looking forward to the first wind event with Santa Anas coming up,' said Handfield. 'I can use what I've learned and hopefully prevent or catch a fire early.'
