CURRENT NEWS!

THE CERT TEAM – Here's a photo of just some of the CERTs ready to assist the Oracle Fire Dept. during an incident.

STAY ALERT! – Once again, it's that time of the year when we are at our most extreme level of fire danger. "Fine fuels" (grasses and weeds) have little to no moisture left and are extremely flammable. These fuels can ignite with just one spark and will quickly carry fire to heavier fuels. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to reduce or eliminate fine fuels from your yard.  

Alert citizens who promptly report a fire are our best line of defense, since the earlier that we get dispatched, the better chance that we will have of keeping a fire under control. A call to 911 results in the quickest response, as the whole fire department gets dispatched by two-way radios and a group cell phone text. A 911 call also dispatches law enforcement which is very important for traffic control and  for criminal fires. Please refrain from calling the fire station directly or from driving to the station to report fires. Hopefully with your help, (and a good soaking rain) we can all get through another fire season with minimal damages.

HWY 77 FIRE – On June 25th at 2:18pm, nine firefighters responded to a report of a brush fire on Hwy 77 near MP 102. The fire was quickly extinguished and held to about one acre. A team of Oracle CERTs were deployed to assist. (See photos below.)

VALENCIA-REDONDO FIRE – On June 9th at 1609 hours, we responded to a report of a brush fire near Mountain Vista School. Upon arrival a wood fence, power pole, and surrounding brush were burning. The fire quickly spread in a north and south direction along the fence line, reaching a second power pole and igniting it too. Dry grass in a nearby yard had also ignited allowing the fire to spread in the direction of an occupied residential structure. The fire was quickly extinguished by a crew of 14 firefighters including several Fire Explorers. Damage was limited to two gas meters, two power poles, a 50 foot section of wood fence, a couple of trees and a thicket of bamboo. No structures were involved and no injuries were reported. One resident was evacuated for a short time and electrical power to the neighborhood was restored in about an hour. (See a few photos below.)
 

CURRENT FIRE STATUS – Coronado National Forest officials changed the fire danger warning on Smokey Bear to EXTREME. It doesn't get any higher than that. Please be very careful with anything that can produce an ignition source. Smoking, hot vehicle exhaust, welding, and outdoor cooking are some of the more common human caused ignition sources.
As we get closer to the monsoon, lightning and especially dry lightning will be a huge concern this year. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we can't stress enough, how important it is to chop down any tall grass and weeds that are within 30 feet of your building structures.

NEW FIRST RESPONDERS – We recently had several CERTs graduate from their First Responder Class given at the OFD firehouse. This greatly expands the capabilities of the CERT team. Congratulations to: Charlene Tipps, Kevin Armbrust, Tom Wetzel, Judy Sparkman, Doug Johnson, Jason Weiss, Rachel Opinsky, Charlotte Poole, Steve Hesley, and Joyce McRae.

ORACLE STREET MAP - We have an online printable version of Oracle map book pages with hyperlinked street legend, one hundred block grid lines (in four hundred increments) and gallons-per-minute color-coded hydrants. Click HERE or on the map below.