Attention
All CERT and All LART Members - On Saturday, October 30,
2010 we will hold our first Large Animal Disaster Drill at the Rancho Mission
Viejo Riding Park of San Juan Capistrano (formally Oaks/Blenheim), located at
the corner of La Pata and the Ortega Highway. Registration for the drill
will begin at 8:00 AM. The drill will be completed no later than 2:00 PMUpdate - August 26, 2009Hi Everyone,
Some surrounding areas will be in "Red Flag" probably clear through the week end. We ARE NOT in "Red Flag" conditions at this time, but that can change at any time and depends on the wind conditions. We are however going to be real hot and dry through out the week end and fire conditions are high. So, please "BE WATCHFUL" and if the conditons change I'll be sending out an e-mail asking for volunteers. Remember - if something looks supicious - it probably is.
Thanks so much for being part of "Canyon Defense" and taking an active roll in protecting our canyon against "Wild Fires".
Sharon Stancato
Canyon Defense
Update - August 11, 2009"Smoke in the Air" Presentation - Saturday, August 22, 2009, 2:00pmNeighbors and Residents of Trabuco Canyon!
As you well know, "Smoke In The Air" is often our first warning of a Wild Fire.
Choices have to made and made quickly.
What will you do?
Leave and leave Early (Ready, Set, Go)?
Or stay and defend (Shelter in Place)?
I have found that adding to available instruction in the county would save lives and property. This instruction comes to us from the land down under, a place that has practiced stay and defend or leave and leave early for the past 20 years with great success. I have just received the latest instruction from the South Australian government, and I would like to share it will all of you.
You will learn how to write a fire plan for either choice. One that you start to put in place the minuet red flag conditions are called, not after fire has started.
Mike Milligan (Fire Chief of Holy Jim Fire Crew), who will lead the presentation is a veteran of many fires here, and is a long time resident. You will see, through his eyes, valuable lessons in preparation and decision making - what is right and safe for you and your situation.
Learn what fire really is, what forms it takes, what to expect if you have to shelter in place, or choose to stay and defend. Rule one: Throw away those flip-flops and shorts, and stay off the roof with that plastic garden hose. There is a much better, safer, way and you will learn it here.
Learn how to leave your home in the best possible condition to survive a burn-over or ember-attract if you decide to leave. You can do lots, and it parallels shelter in place and stay and defend, only you will be long gone.
Equipment Show: What can you buy as a citizen to protect your property? Plenty! We will show you pumps, pump operation, the use of gels, foam application. Water back packs that use foam and water. Personal equipment: Fire resistant shirts, pants, face masks, helmets, respiratory equipment, foot wear. A local vendor will be on site to answer your questions. Tom, from Line Gear in RSM, will be on hand to show fire wares and give info. (No sales in the park by park rules.) But his store is open Monday through Friday and he will have plenty of business cards.
Here is what to bring: Water to drink, lawn chairs(seating is limited), a note pad (we will be giving web addresses & lots of other info), and your FRS/GRMS radio. Yup a short course in them too, plus you can follow us using them during the pump operation demo.
It all happens in O'Neill Regional Park behind the nature center in the amphitheater area on Saturday August 22, 2009, starting at 2 PM, and going until all are satisfied. Why 2 PM? Because it will start to simulate some of the conditions of wild fire, your opening training.
Dave Seroski
949/533-7153
Update - August 7, 2009 - 9:00pm
Trabuco Canyon Fire Watch Orientations
Welcome to our volunteer patrol and thank you for keeping our canyon safe.
Our local Fire Watch group is growing. We are up and running for the season. We will cover Red Flag Days through 2-hour shifts. Our group (with 35 community members) is coordinating with OC Fire Department Pat Antrim for Red Flag alerts under OC Fire Chief Scott Brown, local Fire Company 18 (Ray Falcon), the Holy Jim Fire Crew and well-established fire patrols from Silverado/Modjeska.
A county emergency communications network will notify us of Red Flag conditions. Sharon (or Debbie K) will mobilize the watch by sending out an email announcement. Members who can take a shift will note their time slot and hit ‘reply all.’ If you are too busy to take a shift no response is needed. This worked well last year – very simple! Shifts are coordinated via email because it is more efficient than dozens of individual phone calls. (But do telephone Sharon at 949-413-5464 if you want a shift but do not have email access).
Holy Jim has been the target of multiple arson fires this summer and the fire season will be a tough one. Limited exit routes from our area are a liability during fire conditions, but the geography make patrols extremely effective, as there are only a few routes in and out of the canyon. All vehicles coming into Trabuco must pass Cook’s Corner or the Plano and entrance to Holy Jim. We can note and be visible to any car entering the canyon during times of high fire danger. Hikers and pedestrians, in contrast, are most likely to enter Holy Jim or O’Neill through RSM. Recent information suggests that that the fires in Holy Jim were set by people entering on foot from the Dove Canyon/RSM area. We will provide a street address for that location.
Some Practice Guidelines:
The patrol calls for two hours of sitting/driving in your car, enjoying your java and being alert.
Patrols should be done in pairs, not alone (for safety reasons, particularly at night).
2-hour shifts are suggested (but you may sign up for a longer shift if you like).
If a slot is already taken and you cannot sign up for an alternate time, feel free to sign up for a second patrol during a covered time slot. If you can, coordinate with the other patrol to cover the canyon in the most efficient way (for example: a car patrolling Holy Jim and another patrolling between Cook’s Corner and the Plano).
Bring along: pair of magnetic car signs, cell phone (and radios, if available), paper and pen, binoculars, list of contact numbers, flash light, fire extinguisher (if you have one) emergency notification phone numbers (provided below), and a cup of coffee (optional, but highly recommended) munchies help too. They really help to keep me awake during the late light/early morning shifts.
Several sets of magnetic car signs are available from Debbie. Use the note pad provided to serve as a sign out sheet and please provide your contact number while on patrol: this will help other volunteers locate the signs if they are needed. The signs are an important deterrent, so use them. They put arsonists on notice that they are being watched. Arsonists are non-confrontational and opportunistic by nature. (A visible presence may well convince them to go somewhere else -- protecting our canyon, our homes and families). If you'd like to purchase your own signs that would be great. More info on that to come....
Do not confront, but be observant and make your presence quietly known. OC Fire Captain Scott Brown has asked that we note ANY suspicious activity. Record vehicle makes and models, descriptions, license plate numbers and times activity was noted. Watch for smoke. A camera works well too....
It has been suggested that during Red Flag alerts every car that enters or leaves Holy Jim should be noted (time of entrance/departure, license plate, description of automobile and occupants (number, approximate age, sex). OC Fire investigators want that information in event of a fire incident. All information can be left in Debbie's shed and will later be turned over to me. (Sharon)
When two cars on patrol, one should watch Holy Jim.
You may drive around for your shift or stay in place. Just ensure that your FIRE WATCH signs are highly visible and that you can observe traffic in/out of the canyons.
Suggested locations/routes:
- Mouth of Holy Jim Canyon (hot spot)
- RSM entrance point to Holy Jim (suspected entry point for recent arson activity) (Dave Seroski has given this to me – I can plug it in if we want).
- Top of Plano Trabuco near the old nursery
- Cruise between Cook’s and the Plano
- Top of the Crest by Hamilton Trail is a good spot to park.
If there's more than one car out patrolling, one car can patrol Santiago Canyon. I also patrol Black Star Canyon, but make sure there's two of you....It's amazing the activity that goes on late a night in our canyon areas. Lots of teenage boys...
In an emergency situation: call (911 and be prepared to provide location details? Or call: we're trying to work this out...Don't call our local fire station as they may be out on a call and time will be wasted...
Other important contact numbers include: Sharon 949-413-5464
Add Radio information? If you have a GMRS radio or another kind please e-mail me with that info. Also, if your a member of Crest you will get credit for patrolling, so please give me your call number and remind me. It's nice to communicate with others while on patrol...
Thank you!
The local patrols make a difference. Thank you for helping to keep our canyon safe.
If you have questions or suggestions, please email Sharon (sonrise_ranch@yahoo.com). All suggestions are welcomed.
If you know of someone willing to join our group or need to update your contact information, email Helga (helgathordarson@gmail.com).
Thanks Helga for all your help!!!
Thank you all!
If I can work it out I'm going try and put our sign up sheet on our NEW Web page. This way you all can see immediately what time slots are open and those that filled. Here's a sample of what our sign up sheet will look like;
"RED FLAG ALERT" Means to be on alert that it's possible the conditions could at ANYTIME become a "RED FLAG CONDITION" Please check your e-mails and our Web page for further instructions....Thank you so much for helping....
The weather forecasters will give us the day and times that we will be under RED FLAG CONDITIONS. Sometimes there wrong. So, if your scheduled to patrol and there's no wind here, you don't have to patrol. It's your choice, but it's still a good idea to show our presence and the wind can change at any time. One Christmas Eve I was parked at the mouth of Holy Jim. It was 4 am with only a few strong gusts, but RED FLAG CONDITIONS. At my house the wind was blowing so hard that it blew two of my horse roofs off. Our brush is so dry and hasn't burned in 25 yrs, so anytime it's windy just have a watchful eye. Please do your best and that's all we can ask...Lets do our best to STOP a WILD FIRE before it starts. Don't let you be the reason for a fire...That's a saying that goes around the Fire Depts. : )
Saturday the 26TH - depending on the wind
4pm - 6pm ___________________________________________________________
6pm - 8pm ___________________________________________________________
8pm - 10pm ___________________________________________________________
10pm - 12pm ___________________________________________________________
12am - 2am ___________________________________________________________
2am - 4am ___________________________________________________________
4am - 6am ___________________________________________________________
Sunday the 27TH - depending on the wind
2pm - 4pm ___________________________________________________________
4pm - 6pm ___________________________________________________________
6pm - 8pm ___________________________________________________________
8pm - 10pm ___________________________________________________________
10pm -12pm ___________________________________________________________
ETC. Just let me know what time you'd like and I'll fill it in.
I really want to get our sign up sheet on the Canyon Defense Web Page. It will make our sign ups more efficient and immediately available for all to see. We have a lot of new members and we just wanted to give you some idea of how things will work...
Sharon
TC-Canyon Defense
"Special thanks to Helga and Debbie for helping"
January 10, 2009 - 6:00am
Hi everyone! Boy I thought we were going to get off easy this year. Actually we've fared a lot better than last year. I remember patrolling on Christmas Eve and coming home to watch two large 10x24's horse roofs blowing off and a friend standing underneath them. Now that was scary!
But the weather guys, who've known to be wrong before, are calling for high winds starting approx 12 noon today and supposed to blow all the way through Sunday. Lets see how it goes, but please stand by. We may need to do some patrolling tonight etc. Please check your e-mails later today for instruction. Sometimes the winds aren't that bad out here, but it's still a good idea to keep our eyes opened.
Thanks so much for everyone help!!!
Sharon
Canyon Defense - Trabuco Canyon
LETS GET OUT AND DO OUR PART TO HELP PROTECT US ALL FROM A FIRE
"YOU DON'T BE THE REASON FOR A FIRE"
Please be on alert this week end for the possibility of being called out to patrol...
1. If patrolling at night please don't go alone.
2. Take a flash light
3. Have a camera handy
4. If you see someone parked on the side of the road, "Do you need any help". But please be careful and use caution.
5. Have a note pad and pencil to write info on.
6. Just let yourselves been seen.
7. If you see something that you know is suspicious call 911 and don't approach.
8. Pay close attention to the entrance of Holy Jim Canyon. I'm told if a fire gets started there it's going to be bad for us all.
9. When I patrol, I patrol the whole canyon all the way to Silverado and Black Starr. I'm told that Silverado patrols that area. I believe we should be eyes everywhere we can. The more the better.
10. If your scheduled to patrol and there's no wind you don't have to...unless you still want to.
11. Those who patrol and are members of Crest please remind me so i can see that you get credit.
12. Shifts are for 2 hrs.
13. There can be more then one care out at a time.
