Photo courtesy of Emily Kaulitz
At this time we have no more current information than is available via the Town Crier or WNKI or observers on various points around the area (Inspiriation Point, above Pine Crest, the outer area of Poppet Flats, etc.) who are reporting what they’re seeing.
What INancy Layton, MDP president, asks each of you to do WHO ARE ABLE, please print out this list and visit each of your neighbors, letting me know the following information:
1) There is a fire burning east-north-east of Cranston Station at the bottom of the Hill as you approach Hemet.
2) The USFS is in charge of this fire and is releasing information as they can.
3) Two sources of current information are the Town Crier Website’s Breaking News and WNKI (1610-AM)
4) IF THEY DON’T ALREADY HAVE THEIR “GO BOX” READY, NOW IS THE TIME. Likewise, get any animals they might need to evacuate confined and able to move them quickly should the evacuation order come.
5) AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE NO ORDERS TO EVACUATE IDYLLWILD, PINE COVE, OR MOUNTAIN CENTER, but it is still a good time to begin preparing.
6) If the vehicle they’re going to use for evacuation does not have a full tank of fuel, go fill it now! Vehicles that break down because they’re out of fuel along an evacuation route will be pushed out of the way so as to not impede the progress of the others along the route.
7) MDP is on the job.
MDP is now (9:00 PM) in a stand-down, radio active and monitoring condition per Chief Steve Kunkle. Chief Kunkle will alert myself and Rick Foster, MDP Training Director, via phone if he receives an advance alert regarding any impending evacuation orders. At that time we would re-activate our MDP volunters who have been through the appropriate training and are able to be effective in assisting with any aspect of the situation we may be called upon to do.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to preparing for a possible evacuation order, I now want to remind everyone on the Hill to plug in a hard-wired phone where you'll be able to hear it in the night should an evacuation order come through. Remember, such order coming through on the County's Early Warning Notification System will come via telephone. If you don't have a land-line phone that does not require electricity to function, and our power is cut either by Edison or by the fire, itself, you won't get that call.The link to register a cell phone or other device capable of receiving such a warning notice is:
http://www.rvcfire.org/opencms/quick_links/NotificationSystem.html
You can click through that page to register your non Verizon or PacBell contact number.
MDP will be back on radio alert in the morning with our Communications Center opening at the Idyllwild Fire Station at 6:00 AM. Our MDP radio-trained volunteers have been told to check in at 8:00, unless needed earlier.
I want to thank the Town Crier for maintaining this information feed. I'm keeping an eye on it as things progress through the night.