Pumpkin Carving at Hellhole

Hellhole Canyon Preserve in Valley Center will be hosting a Pumpkin Carving and Halloween Movie in the Park on Saturday, October 30 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Free pumpkins will be provided to the first 25 participants. The featured movie presentation will be the animated box office hit, “How to Train Your Dragon.” Families are encouraged to bring pumpkins, carving tools, lawn chairs, blankets, sweaters and flashlights. Light snacks will be served. A donation of $1 per child under 13 and $2 per adult is suggested. Children under 3 are free. Hellhole Canyon is located at 19324 Santee Lane in Valley Center.

Firefighters wear pink to show they care

Valley Center Fire Protection District Administrative Fire Chief Cristina Wallace and Firefighter Marc Schell wear their pink T-shirts in support of Breast Cancer awareness month.


Californians across the state may notice something a little different when they see Cal Fire firefighters, including firefighters in Valley Center, this week.
That’s because firefighters, dispatchers and other employees of the state’s fire department will be showing their support for the battle against breast cancer by wearing pink T-shirts on duty.

Like fire departments across the country, Cal Fire participating in the 2010 national “Cares Enough to Wear Pink" campaign taking place Oct. 25–27.

Over 900 fire departments and emergency response agencies across the United States are participating in the “Cares Enough to Wear Pink" campaign, which raises money and attention to cancer. The campaign is part of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when wearing pink signifies support for breast cancer research.
100% of the proceeds from the T-shirt sales generated by Cal Fire’s employee's voluntary participation are being donated to cancer related non-profit organizations.

FUEL REDUCTION WORK TO BE EXTENDED ALONG LILAC

More fuel reduction work along Lilac Road will begin the first week of November.

Recently Powerland Equipment completed its contract with the Valley Center Fire Safe Council (VCFSC) to reduce fuel along Lilac Road from Anthony Road to Old Castle Road and on Old Castle to Champagne Boulevard.

Powerland completed its contract ahead of schedule and with money enough left over so that the Greater Valley Center Fire Safe Council decided to extend the contract to do work similar to the Lilac / Old Castle work on Lilac Road north of Old Castle Road to Couser Canyon Road.

According to Jim Courter, president of VCFSC, “work is scheduled to start during the first week of November and should be completed by the end of the month.”
The purpose of the fuel reduction is to provide a safe evacuation route for the Lilac Corridor and the western side of town, which has been identified as having the most hazardous expanse of unburned brush and fuel in the area—and thus the area most threatened during wildfire season, which we are in the midst of.

The total cost is about $44,000, including traffic control costs. Randy Hill of the Valley Center Fire Protection District is surveying the route and tagging the areas to be worked on.

Courter said the the Fire Safe Council is working on some additional funding that might allow them to to do another mile or so.
Funding was provided by the U.S. Forest Service through a $150,000 grant obtained through the California Fire Safe Council Grants Clearinghouse.

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

CAL FIRE Asks Public’s Help in Observing
Fire Prevention Week October 3 – 9, 2010
“Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With”

Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in home fires in the U.S. Nearly three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm, but there are still a significant number of homes without smoke alarms or without working smoke alarms. This group accounts for more than one-third of reported home fires and nearly half of all the reported home fire deaths. These are preventable deaths. As startling as these figures are, they give powerful meaning to this year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week 2010, “Smoke Alarms: A sound you can live with.”

CAL FIRE wants to take this opportunity to stress the importance of having smoke alarms and encourage everyone to take the necessary steps required to update and maintain their home smoke alarm protection. Smoke alarms are one of the best and least expensive safety devices you can buy and install to protect yourself, your family and your home. CAL FIRE knows that in the event of a home fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing time to escape. 

“Far too many homes have no smoke alarms, not enough smoke alarms, alarms that are too old or alarms that are not working,” says CAL FIRE Director Del Walters. “We want residents to understand that working smoke alarms can increase your family’s chances of surviving a home fire by 50%. They are needed in every home, on every level, including the basement, outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom. If a smoke alarm is 10 years old or older, it needs to be replaced.”

CAL FIRE would like to offer a few important fire safety and prevention tips:

〈       Install smoke alarms on every level of the home (including the basement), outside each sleeping area, and inside each bedroom. Never remove or disable smoke alarms.
〈       Check your smoke alarm batteries every month.
〈       Change smoke alarm batteries twice a year when changing clocks for daylight savings.
〈       Plan and practice your family home emergency escape plan together several times a year.
〈       Make sure everyone knows when and how to call emergency telephone numbers.
〈       Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.
〈       Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.
〈       Obtain and learn how to use a fire extinguisher.
〈       Install carbon monoxide detectors.
〈       Consider installing residential fire sprinklers in your home.

For more fire safety tips visit the CAL FIRE web site at www.fire.ca.gov.
# # #