Time for a community meeting! The Fire Safe Council and our fire agency partners, Calfire, Idyllwild Fire, and the US Forest Service, are sponsoring a community meeting to help mountain residents know everything they need to know about getting ready for the coming fire season. The event will take place on Saturday, April 30, from 10AM-2PM at the Idyllwild School on Route 243 in Idyllwild, and it will have something for all age groups.

Residents and property owners who are new to the hill will be able to learn about all the critical fire issues that are a part of living on the mountain. New folks can learn about the property inspection process, fuel abatement codes, and also meet fire agency personnel. Since our lives depend on them at times, it is a rather nice feeling to have a sense of who they are, not to mention the professionalism and dedication they bring to the job.

Now, for those who have been here a while, the code particulars and the process is probably not news, but long-time residents will not be bored. There will be interesting events run by the firefighters that should be crowd pleasing and get everyone's attention, and even if you have known some agency personnel in the past, it is always good to renew contacts and meet new faces.

This get together is also a "Fireman's Muster", which is a gathering of fire companies to show antique fire equipment and to demonstrate fire fighting skills. We have invited owners of vintage fire engines and we are hoping for a collection of engines that most of us have never seen.

We will also present new information about making homes safe from wildfire. There is a new national effort to make homes in areas like ours less ignitable and more resistant to the flying embers that set houses on fire in major fire events. MCFSC project managers will talk about how homeowners can improve the survivability of their houses in a fire, and some of the products they discuss will be on display.

The information session will be from 12-1. Agency experts will explain the "Ready, Set, Go" program for mountain residents, along with the inspection process, how to abate your home, and how to get grant help from the MCFSC. We will also highlight new developments in how to make your home less ignitable and more resistant to fire embers.

The exciting demonstrations by firefighters will be both before and after the information session at noon. In addition to the display of fire engines, firefighters from Idyllwild Fire Protection District, Calfire, and the US Forest Service will demonstrate firefighting techniques, the use of hoses, engines and ladders, and will make themselves available to the public for discussion. They will also provide games and challenges for children. And if that is not enough, they will cut a car in two to demonstrate how they extract auto crash victims.

We will also begin a contest, complete with prizes, for the most fire safe house on the mountain.

So please come to the Idyllwild School on April 30. This is going to be a great day for all of us to learn more about protecting ourselves against fire and to have fun interacting with some great people. We hope to see you there.