May 6, 2010 (Sacramento) – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared May 2-8 Wildfire Awareness Week to remind Californians to be prepared for wildfires and vigilant as the state approaches peak fire season. CAL FIRE will also be using the week to highlight the importance of the homeowner’s role in preparing their property and families ahead of time to survive a wildfire.

April 16, 2010 (Spring Valley) -- Recently, a home without a smoke detector was destroyed in Spring Valley and another was severely damaged, San Miguel Fire Department reports. Did you know that:

✪Thirty-seven percent of the homes in the USA still don’t have a working smoke detector
✪Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a fire by half!
✪Nationally, 83 percent of fire-related deaths were the result of home fires

April 13, 2010 (Warner Springs)--CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Authority will be conducting a burn project tomorrow, April 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.near the community of Warner Springs. Crews will be burning piles of brush which was removed from the Warner Springs Estates area. Smoke may be visible from Highway 79 and surrounding areas.

April 3, 2010 (San Diego) San Diego County’s Consolidated Fire Code has been certified by the State of California. According to a County press release issued yesterday, the change will make it simpler for builders and homeowners in San Diego County to comply with fire protection standards on homes and developments.

By Miriam Raftery

 “How can you sit there and say it’s safe to be there when that canyon has burned every year—and you’re going to put those towers up, leave us with no power, and we only have one way in and one way out?” -- Myles Thurman, Lakeside

February 3, 2010 (Lakeside) – San Diego Gas & Electric officials received a far-from-warm welcome from Lakeside residents at a community forum last night hosted by the utility to discuss impacts of Sunrise Powerlink, the proposed high-voltage power line that SDG&E wants to run through Lakeside's El Monte Valley.

SDG&E plans to hold a follow-up meeting within 30 days.

Citizens oversight group forms, will consider recall of board members

January 27, 2010 (Lakeside) – Residents of Lakeside directed heated criticism at the Lakeside Fire Protection District board. In a meeting last night, citizens charged that the Board failed to provide adequate explanation for the firing of Chief Mark Baker.

“You guys are in serious trouble, and you’re accountable for your actions,” Dennis Richardson, a lifetime Lakeside resident, told the board. “You guys need to be taken to the woodshed, because you did not listen to Lakeside.”

Move ignites anger among many community members; residents convene meeting Friday to discuss recall of Board members

January 20, 2010 (Lakeside) – By a 3-2 vote, Lakeside’s Fire Protection District on Saturday voted to oust Fire Chief Mark Baker, despite testimony from 18 members of the public who all spoke in favor of renewing Baker’s contract.

December 6, 2009 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for recently burned areas of Southern California and lists the 2007 Poomacha burn area among the most vulnerable locations. Heavy rains of one inch per hour are forecast, capable of producing debris flows in and below burn areas from noon Monday until 8 p.m. Monday evening.

Other areas included in the flash flood watch are San Diego County mountains, as well as mountain and valley areas in San Bernadino and Riverside County, as well as Santa Ana Mountains and Foothills. Areas below lands burned in the Sheep, Oak Glen, Pendleton, Cottonwood and Poomacha Fires are listed as most vulnerable to flash flooding and debris flows.

November 26, 2009 – A traffic alert was issued at 10:34 a.m. Thanksgiving Day due to a small brush fire on the side of the freeway along I-8 eastbound near the Golden Acorn Casino in the Live Oaks Springs area.  Lanes remained open but traffic slowed briefly due to smoke conditions.

November 16, 2009 (Cuyamaca) -- Personnel from Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, in cooperation with CAL FIRE, will conduct a controlled burn on Middle Peak north of Cuyamaca Peak on Wednesday. Smoke and flames will be visible from many areas in the county due to high altitude location. Residents in Ramona will have an especially clear view, although the burn is many miles away.  The burn will begin about 9 a.m. and should conclude by 4 p.m., with patrol operations continuing for several days. Due to many dead trees in the burn area, smoke may continue to be visible for several days after the burn is completed.

November 8, 2009 (San Diego) – A fire in an canyon on Adobe Falls Road near San Diego State University has been extinguished. Firefighters made repeated water drops last night to douse the blaze, preventing it from spreading to nearby homes.