Fire Preparedness Press Conference

On Wednesday May 26Th 2010, CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Authority held its annual Wildfire Preparedness press conference. This is an opportunity for Fire and Law enforcement agencies to come together and remind the citizens of San Diego to be prepared. CAL FIRE/San Diego Chief Howard Windsor along with other fire representatives discussed the importance of being ready as a homeowner and a family when wildfire strikes. Supervisor Dianne Jacob spoke on the additional county resources available and the importance of the multi-agency approach that is evident daily throughout San Diego County. Fire departments cross the state have introduced the "Ready, Set, Go" program as a guide to homeowners for being prepared prior to a wildfire. For further information on the "Ready, Set, Go," program please visit http://www.readyforwildfire.org/

Elderly Man Attacked by Bees

May 21st 2010; A 68 year old Tecate man was attacked by bees in the 500 block of Tecate Road in the Eastern portion of San Diego County. CAL FIRE dispatchers received the report around 4:15 pm of an elderly man being attacked by possible africanized bees. When firefighters arrived the man was being attacked by several hundred bees and had been stung more than 75 times. Firefighters were able to rescue the victim by placing him inside the fire engine. The victim was transported by mercy air to a local hospital. What to do if you are attacked by Africanized Honey Bees

Get Signed Up. Get Notified

AlertSanDiego is for registering your cell phone, VoIP phone, and email address only. Listed and unlisted land line phones are already included in the database and do not need to be registered.

The County of San Diego, in partnership with Twenty First Century Communications, Inc., has instituted a regional notification system that will be able to send telephone notifications to residents and businesses within San Diego County impacted by, or in danger of being impacted by, an emergency or disaster. This system, called AlertSanDiego, will be used by emergency response personnel to notify those homes and businesses at risk with information on the event and/or actions (such as evacuation) we are asking them to take. The system utilizes the region's 9-1-1 database, provided by the local telephone company(ies), and thus is able to contact land-line telephones whether listed or unlisted. It is TTY/TDD capable. Because the system uses the 9-1-1 database, only land-line numbers are in the system. If you have a Voice over IP (VoIP) or cellular telephone and would like to be notified over that device, or if you would like an email notification, you must register those telephone numbers and/or email address for use by the system. For more information please visit ReadySanDiego.org

CAL FIRE and the United States Military Conduct Annual Helicopter Training

CAL FIRE and the United States Military conducted their annual Military helicopter training exercise today on Camp Pendleton . Todays multi agency event included CAL FIRE, San Diego County Sheriffs Cooperative Helicopter Program, United States Marine Corps, and Navy. The ongoing communications and training between CAL FIRE and the Military continues to enhance the activation process for the use of military aircraft during large scale wildfires across Southern California.

Every year CAL FIRE and the U.S. Military engage in months of intense training, which all came together on May 13, 2010 on the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in Northern San Diego County. CAL FIRE and the United States Military have been very proactive in training additional firefighting pilots, this also allows CAL FIRE the opportunity to exercise the use of their aircraft in concert with our federal partners. The activation process was viewed by several dignitaries and multiple media outlets. It was evident that this process is not only a benefit to CAL FIRE and the US Military, but ultimately to the citizens of California that we serve.

Brush Fire near Jamul

CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Authority along with San Miguel Fire Department responded to a reported brush fire to the rear of the Cottonwood Golf Course near the community of Jamul on Tuesday 5/12/2010 at approximately 3pm. Engine companies and aircraft extinguished the fire in about 30 minutes. Due to an aggressive attack the fire was kept to a 20' x 20' spot, and the cause remains under investigation.

This is another important reminder to ensure your home has 100 feet of defensible space. For further information on how to protect your home please visit www.readyforwildfire.org

CAL FIRE-San Diego County Fire Authority participates in the High Tech Fair

2010 Elected Officials Briefing

On May 4th 2010, CAL FIRE-San Diego County Fire Authority held our second annual elected officials briefing. The objective of the meeting was to educate/refresh staff on several important topics that may impact our County. These topics included:


§ Fuel conditions for 2010/Fuels Management and Defensible Space Activities
§ Preparedness Levels
§ Activation of Military helicopters when fires occur. (DSCA) process
§ Update of the night flying agreement with San Diego Fire Rescue Department
§ Public information dissemination-receiving accurate and timely information

We would like to thank all the Offices that were able to attend this extremely important event.
Staff from the following offices attended:
Senator Hollingsworth
Senator Feinstein
Senator Boxer
Senator Ducheny
Senator Kehoe
Assemblyman Anderson
San Diego County Board of Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and her Staff
Staff from County Board of Supervisor Bill Horn
San Diego County Board of Supervisor Greg Cox
Valley Center Fire Board
Deer Springs Fire Board
Ramona Water Board
Pine Valley Fire Board
Rural Fire Board