If you noticed helicopters whizzing around the local foothills, don't be alarmed. A multi-agency brush fire drill has been going on in the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park since Tuesday and concludes at noon today.
The drill participants include fire fighters from the following fire departments: Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, the U.S. Forest Service, La Verne, Upland, and Chino Valley.
Even with last week's cool, rainy weather, the fire season has gotten off to a quick start, and figures to pick up as the summer wears on. The Daily Bulletin had a brief article about the fire season's early arrival:
At a press conference Wednesday in Diamond Bar, Ventura County Fire Department Chief Bob Roper said the grassland and chaparral on the slopes of Southern California hills and mountains are already in midsummer form.
With the rain arriving earlier and the grasses having matured, "it is ready to take a fire and carry it with heavy fuels," Roper said.
"The severity of the fire season will be determined by the number of days of wind, humidity and the fuel conditions we have with us."
More than 87,000 acres of brushland were burned during the 2007 season, compared with about 85,000 acres for the previous three years combined. Fire damage, estimated at $274 million, was up nearly $150 million from the previous year.
The article also reported that the total number of fires actually dropped last year, but the damage costs rose because the homes that were burned were in pricey areas.
It's reassuring to see the fire departments going through there paces. During the last big fire in 2003, there seemed to be a good deal of confusion and miscommunication that added to the problems residents reported in after-action reviews. As we've since learned, a little investment now goes a long way towards avoiding big costs down the line.
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