Forest Falls Firefighters

SCE has several weather stations throughout the canyon to monitor for fire weather. You can access the downtown weather from the Mill Creek Crossing site, link here. https://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/meso_base_dyn.cgi

https://vimeo.com/504903531/a2f67ea2b3

While most of us are outside of a flood threat due to the low snow levels, some may be impacted and should be reminded of how to prepare or react if flooding occurs. Our County Fire, Public Works and Sheriff's remain prepared to respond to needs as they occur as well as provide Sand Bags for your use.

There are only three days left, today, tomorrow, and Saturday to stop by the Gillmore Real Estate office to sign the 25 thank you letters for the fire agencies that protected our community during the El Dorado Fire.

As we start the new year, one very positive thing we could do is to thank the 25 agencies that protected Forest Falls last September, October, and November from the El Dorado Fire. A member of our community has put together personalized letters to the head of each of the agencies that were here. You are invited to stop by the Gillmore Real Estate office in Forest Falls this week (our hours are 9am-5pm) to sign these letters. The deadline for signing will be 5pm this Saturday so they can be mailed on Monday, January 18. Thank you for coming by to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to all of those that protected our homes and community.

Good morning from Forest Falls

Santa is Coming to Town! Please join your local Station 99 firefighters as we welcome Santa Claus to our town on December 19th. Since 2020 is so different than most years we've experienced, Santa will be rolling through town greeting all the children high atop a decorated fire engine with lights and music. This will give children in town a chance see Santa while also practicing safe Social Distancing. The parade starts in lower canyon at 6pm. Keep an eye out for him as... he passes through your part of town and hands out some goodies. Route: Lower Canyon Drive, Prospect Loop. Valley of the Falls East, RT Wood Road, LT Marcy. Marcy, RT on Valley of the Falls and a stop in DownTown. Valley of the Falls East RT Sycamore, LT Oak, RT Canyon, LT Spring. Spring Drive to Hemlock. Valley of the Falls East to Rock Drive (Turn Around Point) Valley of the Falls West to Station 99 (end Point) If you live on a dead end side street, please walk out to a section of the route you'll be able to see him. Bring a lawn chair and warm clothing. The entire route should take approx one hour. This event is subject to any adverse/extreme weather conditions we may experience by the day of the parade. Obviously, we don't want to cancel it, but if we get 4 feet of snow that night it won't be possible. Happy Holidays and See you on the 19th!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Zach Behrens, 909-382-2788 Fire restrictions remain in effect Thanksgiving week Dry conditions combined with predicted Santa Ana winds mean wildfires could still ignite... SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - San Bernardino National Forest officials are reminding the public that fire restrictions remain in effect for the Thanksgiving week and beyond. Despite one winter storm in early November, vegetation in much of the Forest continues to be very dry. Some lower elevation areas are even drier than in the summer, when numerous large fires broke out. Moderate Santa Ana winds are additionally predicted for later this week on Thanksgiving Day and Friday. A fire that ignites during such winds, combined with current vegetation and weather conditions, can "grow rapidly and will be difficult to control," according to the Santa Ana Wind Threat Index, a Predictive Services product from the U.S. Forest Service. Forest Service firefighters may extend staffing for 24 hour periods during that time. "The shorter days and colder temperatures can make it feel like we are out of peak fire season, but that is not the case," said Deputy Fire Chief Scott Howes. "Visitors need to be as cautious as ever with anything that could spark a fire." Current fire restrictions and fire-related safety prohibitions include: No campfires No smoking No target shooting No dispersed or yellow post camping (only a few developed campgrounds are open) No entering the burn areas for the Apple, El Dorado and Snow fires A full list of restrictions and related prohibitions can be found on the Forest's website.

Chipper Daze delayed. Due to the crews being committed to flood preparation from the El Dorado Fire chipping in Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village has been re-scheduled for November 23rd, 24th and 25th... weather dependent. If you build a pile before the 23rd and have not registered its location, call 909 794 2518 or email location to [email protected]

As of now we have two smokes being monitored in the Canyon, one behind the water tanks in Forest Center and another further up the slope behind Corral Rd. The Forest Service has an Engine monitoring both and watching for any others that may arise. There is also a larger smoke on the West face of San Bernardino Peak high above Hwy 38.

As the Santa Ana winds build we are seeing unusual winds blowing down canyon at 7am this morning. Since these are the first strong winds since the El Dorado Fi...re was extinguished the blowing white ash is easily confused for smoke. While gusts of 60-80mph are predicted for the mountain tops our down canyon winds so far this day are running just over 12mph with gusts recorded at 30.8 @ 6:30am (Per SCE station @ Mill Creek Crossing). Patricia and I drove down to Eyes of the World to see total white/brown out as the ash blew across Hwy 38... looks like the ground crews working on the "Holes for Poles" were sent back to camp, probably to wait for the winds to diminish.

Bagged Ice and Sand Bags. In anticipation of tomorrows Forest Falls and Angelus Oaks planned power outages SoCal Edison has provided some coupons good for up to $10 of bag ice at either Smart and Final or RiteAid stores. If you need a coupon or two, stop by Gillmore Real Estate, we have extras. The initial 300 sand bags delivered to the Forest Falls firehouse are almost gone so another load will be delivered this weekend. Please make sure and park off the main road while loading your vehicle.

SAND BAGS & CHIPPER DAZE... Around noon today 300 pre-filled and tied sand bags will be delivered across the street from the Forest Falls firehouse. You are welcome to take what you need, more will be coming as the need dictates. If you are not familiar with how to build a proper sand bag wall, check it out on the internet, there is a method that is preferred. We continue to work on a way to provide County Fire assistance to those in need for creating flood protection to homes, more to come on that. The next Chipper Daze will be Tuesday, November 10th. Registration for piles will end @ 8am on November 9th by sending the pile address to [email protected] or calling 909.794.2518. . All the rules are the same, email flyers will go out soon.

A reminder. When the community looses cell and landline phone service, we loose the ability to call 911. When this happens we make every attempt to staff the firehouse with at least 1 firefighter during the outage who can communicate with our dispatch center using our County radios to start a response to an emergency. So, if you have a 911 need and the phones are down, come to or send another to the firehouse where you will get help.

Yesterday I participated in the El Dorado Flood/Mudslide Task Force Committee meeting. This first meeting was essentially to confirm strategy and responsibiliti...es plus meet all the players which included; SBCounty; Supervisor Dawn Rowe and Matt Knox, Fire Chief Dan Munsey and staff, OES, Sheriff, Public Works (Flood Control and Roads), Land Use Services. CalTrans,CalFire, CHP,and U.S. Forest Service. This group will be working with the already established FAST (Flood Area Safety Task Force) that has other partners including the National Weather Service, NWS. While the scope of this committee includes the Oak Glen and Yucaipa areas my reports will generally be limited to our east mountain communities and more particularly Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village as Rob Follett from Angelus Oaks Sta98 represents that area. Specifics are thin at this time but a few of the important things I took away from this meeting include; 1. Those who live in an area that is now threatened by possible flood/debris flow could expect multiple evacuation orders with re-population home being a high priority so as to inconvenience you as little as possible. Some evacuations could be as simple as moving to higher ground as it is possible that mud/debris flows might close Hwy38 or Valley of the Falls Dr. from time to time, precluding evacuations out of the community, something we are familiar with in Forest Falls. 2. Public Works is creating a website that should go live soon but is essentially prohibited from working on private property. However the NRCS, National Resources Conservation Service, should be able to assist private property owners and in many cases pay 75% of the mitigation costs. 3. County Fire intends to utilize its inmate crews to build pallets of pre-filled sand bags and can work on private property since the inmate crews are non-profit. Many of you have probably seen the work CalTrans is already doing along Highway 38 from MHV to Angelus Oaks as there is an obvious threat to the Highway and those living downstream, depending on the volume of rainfall we get. While not a discussion item at this meeting I have heard the weather prediction for this winter is La Niña, warmer and dryer than normal, however the responsible agencies will plan for the worst case, as you should as well

I think its important that all residents in the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County give strong consideration to Measure U on the upcoming ballot. Wh...ile I only share data for the Forest Falls firehouse I suspect it represents most of the fire stations, if not all, that serve us. Here is a re-post from last Friday... SHOULD WE SUPPORT THE FP-5 FIRE FEE? In representative government the people choose the level of service they want and then bear the cost of receiving that service. For several years we paid $150 per household to the State as a CalFire fee which went straight to Sacramento and provided no additional fire protection to our community. Shortly after CalFire fee was stopped we were faced with a local fire fee that would benefit us directly. However, this local fee of $160 year per parcel, FP-5, was pretty much forced upon us without an opportunity to vote. Due to citizen actions the issue is on the ballot this November 3rd to decide if it will continue or be eliminated. When you vote, look for Measure U. I contend we should pay our fair share and supporting FP5 does just that. Hear are the facts. Prior to FP-5 the Forest Falls fire station (FS99) operated at a loss every year. Here is fiscal year 2019 - 2020 breakdown. Revenue, all sources except FP-5: $326,714 Expenses: -$268,655 Apparatus replacement fund, see below* -$126,500 Capitol Improvement Fund (replace building, etc)** -$100,000 Leaving us short annually, without FP-5 funds: -$168,441 FP-5 Revenue, assuming 100% of all parcels*** $171,544 Annual surplus carryover, provided no unforeseen expenses to the station or major apparatus repair or replacement. $ 3,103 ** Nothing lasts forever and our beautiful firehouse, the original portion having been built in the 1950’s, is showing its age. It can no longer fit modern fire apparatus and more importantly lies within a flood zone that has become more active over the past 10 years, almost taking out the station on 3 occasions when flash floods from Slide Creek diverted north easterly and came within 15’ of the building. Fire stations are only designed to last 50 years, we are overdue. The cost of a new firehouse, based on the recent replacement of the Angelus Oaks station, is 5-6 million dollars. With an annual Capitol Improvement Fund of $100,000 the building (and land) costs for station replacement works out to cover a new fire house with a 50 year life. * For everyone’s safety we must maintain a fleet of operational apparatus able to respond to the all risk situations that occur in our primary response area. When looking at our fleet here is the estimated amount per year that needs to be set aside for apparatus replacement; Engine, 10-12 year life, $600,000 or $50k per year Water Tender, 20 year life, $250,000 or $12.5K per year. Patrol, 15 year life, $250,000 or $17k/year, Rescue, 15 year life, $200,000 or $13k/year. Squad, 15 year life, (hand me down), $4k/year Snow Cat, 20 year life, $300,000 or $15k/year Loader, 20 year life, $300,000 or $15k/year Total annual apparatus replacement costs: $126,500 Lastly, consider that we have received free chipper service twice a year for a couple of decades. While there is no guarantee chipper service will continue, it seems obvious it may be on the chopping block if FP-5 is eliminated. I don't know what a commercial tree companies costs would be to chip a pile twice a year but I to believe it could easily eat up most, if not all of the FP-5 annual fee. *** Per the tax collector, 1090 is the total parcels in Forest Falls, from this numerous parcels were combined for Tax Assessment, reducing the actual number of parcels that are charged the FP-5 fee, reducing the amount collected annually. Your questions or comments are expected and appreciated, please try to keep them specific to the FIRE, RESCUE and EMS services provided to the communities primarily served by San Bernardino County Fire District, Station 99... Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village.

SHOULD WE SUPPORT THE FP-5 FIRE FEE? In representative government the people choose the level of service they want and then bear the cost of receiving that serv...ice. For several years we paid $150 per household to the State as a CalFire fee which went straight to Sacramento and provided no additional fire protection to our community. Shortly after CalFire fee was stopped we were faced with a local fire fee that would benefit us directly. However, this local fee of $160 year per parcel, FP-5, was pretty much forced upon us without an opportunity to vote. Due to citizen actions the issue is on the ballot this November 3rd to decide if it will continue or be eliminated. When you vote, look for Measure U. I contend we should pay our fair share and supporting FP5 does just that. Hear are the facts. Prior to FP-5 the Forest Falls fire station (FS99) operated at a loss every year. Here is fiscal year 2019 - 2020 breakdown. Revenue, all sources except FP-5: $326,714 Expenses: -$268,655 Apparatus replacement fund, see below* -$126,500 Capitol Improvement Fund (replace building, etc)** -$100,000 Leaving us short annually, without FP-5 funds: -$168,441 FP-5 Revenue, assuming 100% of all parcels*** $171,544 Annual surplus carryover, provided no unforeseen expenses to the station or major apparatus repair or replacement. $ 3,103 ** Nothing lasts forever and our beautiful firehouse, the original portion having been built in the 1950’s, is showing its age. It can no longer fit modern fire apparatus and more importantly lies within a flood zone that has become more active over the past 10 years, almost taking out the station on 3 occasions when flash floods from Slide Creek diverted north easterly and came within 15’ of the building. Fire stations are only designed to last 50 years, we are overdue. The cost of a new firehouse, based on the recent replacement of the Angelus Oaks station, is 5-6 million dollars. With an annual Capitol Improvement Fund of $100,000 the building (and land) costs for station replacement works out to cover a new fire house with a 50 year life. * For everyone’s safety we must maintain a fleet of operational apparatus able to respond to the all risk situations that occur in our primary response area. When looking at our fleet here is the estimated amount per year that needs to be set aside for apparatus replacement; Engine, 10-12 year life, $600,000 or $50k per year Water Tender, 20 year life, $250,000 or $12.5K per year. Patrol, 15 year life, $250,000 or $17k/year, Rescue, 15 year life, $200,000 or $13k/year. Squad, 15 year life, (hand me down), $4k/year Snow Cat, 20 year life, $300,000 or $15k/year Loader, 20 year life, $300,000 or $15k/year Total annual apparatus replacement costs: $126,500 Lastly, consider that we have received free chipper service twice a year for a couple of decades. While there is no guarantee chipper service will continue, it seems obvious it may be on the chopping block if FP-5 is eliminated. I don't know what a commercial tree companies costs would be to chip a pile twice a year but I to believe it could easily eat up most, if not all of the FP-5 annual fee. *** Per the tax collector, 1090 is the total parcels in Forest Falls, from this numerous parcels were combined for Tax Assessment, reducing the actual number of parcels that are charged the FP-5 fee, reducing the amount collected annually. Your questions or comments are expected and appreciated, please try to keep them specific to the FIRE, RESCUE and EMS services provided to the communities primarily served by San Bernardino County Fire District, Station 99... Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village.

Today was almost as positive as residents being allowed to come home several days ago. This is the last day of a multi-agency Team managing the El Dorado Fire ...as it transitions to a USFS Team out of the Mill Creek Ranger Station tomorrow. Is the fire out? No, there are still hot spots and will have a continued presence of suppression forces as needed, including helicopters. The activity on the west face of San Bernardino Peak is will within the burn and expected to run out of fuel in the days to come with no expectation that it will be able to enter our Mill Creek drainage and threaten Forest Falls. About 2pm landline phone service with Frontier came on line and for those with generators to power their routers, internet was back as well. Speaking of power., Valley of the Falls Dr. was just blocked at Marcy Rd. while the large generator was moved into position at the transformer station. Rumors are we could have power yet tonight but if not, probably tomorrow. It will be nice to walk outside and not hear the humm of generators about the Canyon. You may have heard this from me before but let me say it one last time. When getting upset at SCE on the delay of power, remember that the generators are needed because of the damage to the poles and lines BETWEEN and not WITHIN our two communities. We remain, Forest Falls Strong!

Red Cross assistance is available from 7 am - 7 pm at the Redlands East Valley High School, 31000 Colton Ave, Redlands or call 1-800-RED-CROSS

For a better file size, go to this site... https://vimeo.com/sanbernardinocount//459589752/714ce2107c

The El Dorado Fire Incident Management Team has been updated that Edison expects to have their generator in Forest Falls this next Monday and it should be online producing power by FRIDAY...

Welcome Home. Today the FF firehouse transitions back to an "on-call" station as the 24 hour staffing for the past 2 weeks comes to a welcome end. I want to thank all the FF's, local and from afar for the commitment and effort during this trying time. We can expect to see smoke and sometimes flames for weeks or months, possibly till the end of winter. While you do not need to report activity within the perimeter of the fire on a routine basis, if you see something that trul...y alarms you, especially if it is outside the existing fire, you are ENCOURAGED to report it through 911. If the "Incident" is still active someone will check out your report, if not, an engine from one of the closest fire stations will investigate if the smoke or fire warrants action, it will take place. Sharing what you see on FB is not the same as reporting it through 911, use your best judgement. The video of the community meeting held yesterday afternoon should be posted soon for those who could not attend. Over these past two weeks as fire moved here and there, sometimes intense and other times as cooperative as could be for both nature and the effort to protect the communities, we have discussed what thoughts the residents might have when returning home. Please feel free to share your thoughts/first impressions as you traveled back up Hwy 38 to your community. See more

COMMUNITY MEETING @ 4PM TODAY @ BIG FALLS LODGE PRESENTED BY THE FIRE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM. ALL RESIDENTS INVITED TO ATTEND.