The Firebreak
In-depth news and information about our community.
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In-depth news and information about our community.
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From the President
Happy holidays from the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council!
It’s been an exceptional year for us, and most of that is thanks to our dedicated board and to you, the members of our community, for your participation and support. (We are also extremely grateful for financial support from the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation and the various community members who made generous donations to advance our mission.)
From the President
Twenty-eight years ago, on October 21, the Harmony Grove fire started, leaving one dead and a path of destruction through Escondido and San Marcos to Olivenhain and Carlsbad. Nearly a hundred homes were lost, as well as two commercial buildings. The wind-driven fire burned 8600 acres over three days and caused some $52 million in damage. Authorities never determined its cause but labeled it “suspicious.”
From the President
We certainly never intended for so much time to elapse between newsletters, but it's been a busy few months, and time got away from us.
To wit, we’re delighted to announce that our new, improved, overhauled, updated website is now live, and we encourage you to take a look. We’ve reorganized it and added lots of content, and we believe it will be a useful source of information about wildfire and Olivenhain, and how to protect your home and family and prepare for a possible evacuation. In particular, check out the Resources page, which provides links to many apps, websites, documents and other information, and the Fire History page (under the About tab), for an accounting of past fires that have burned through, touched or threatened Olivenhain. (It’s happened before, and the experts all say it’s not a matter of if, but when, it will happen again.) Many thanks to board member Mike Shields, who provided invaluable input on the new site every step of the way, and to Allison Stratton, of Stratton Design and Marketing, who patiently made it all come together.
From the President
It’s been a couple of months since our last newsletter, but we’ve been BUSY! First, on February 26 and March 4, we hosted the two-part Last Chance Survival Simulation Workshop, and I’m delighted to report that both sessions (which didn’t duplicate content) were very well attended. I was asked several times if the workshops were going to be recorded, and the answer was no, but I did promise to do some newsletter articles about them. The first (of probably three) is in this issue of The Firebreak, covering the first half of the first session, on fire behavior. As time permits, I’ll do additional articles, on other topics that were covered, probably over the next few months.
From the President
Happy New Year from OFSC, and many, many thanks to the community members who responded to our appeal and generously donated to support us last year!
From the President
Happy holidays from the OFSC board!
It’s been a busy couple of months. On November 6, we held a well-attended community meeting to present information about our Neighborhood Ambassador program (and hopefully recruit more ambassadors), as well as introduce the Firewise USA program, which was one of the recommendations in the Fitch evacuation report. (See article below.)
From the President
We’re now in peak fire season, which means that even after the extremely wet winter we had, it’s time to be especially vigilant. October and November are typically when Santa Ana winds are most apt to materialize, and when they do, the hot, dry, windy weather can desiccate vegetation, dramatically increasing the risk of wildfire.
From the President
As I write this, the world is reeling over the devastation in Maui, especially the decimation of the historic town of Lahaina and the deaths of 67 people (so far) due to wildfire. Earlier this week, a vegetation fire outside Ramona forced a brief evacuation, and the York fire in the Mojave National Preserve, which started in late July, is finally 98% contained, after burning for two weeks and destroying over 93,000 acres and torching countless Joshua trees.
From the President
Welcome to our June newsletter! We’re pleased to report that the OFSC board had a productive meeting with Chief Josh Gordon earlier this month, where he brought us up to date on several initiatives the fire department has been working on and plans for the future.
From the President
May is National Wildfire Awareness Month, and what a month this has been for the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council! Since our last newsletter, the OFSC has achieved two significant milestones, ones that were many, many months in the making.
From the President
Welcome to the April issue of The Firebreak newsletter. I’m the new chair of the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council, and we’re looking forward to working with all of Olivenhain and our neighbors to build a more fire-safe and resilient community.
That’s why I’m so pleased that we have a big event coming up—one that’s sure to have something for everyone. On May 7, we’re holding our second Community Wildfire Preparedness Fair at the Meeting Hall, and this year, we have a greatly expanded lineup of participants and activities (including Smokey Bear and fire engines!). Mark your calendar and stop by—and grab some popcorn while you’re there. (See following article for details.)
From the President
This year is shaping up to be a significant one for the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council. At long last, thanks to input from community members and various stakeholders, we have a draft of the Olivenhain Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which is close to completion and is currently with the fire department for review. Once the fire department has approved it, we will forward it to the county fire safe council, where the CWPP review committee will go over it and either approve it or return it to us for revisions. It’s truly a milestone for OFSC—one that has been over two years in the making. We expect to revisit the plan every year or two to update and modify it, as needed.
From the President
Happy New Year from the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council! I’m sure everyone is as relieved as we are that despite dire forecasts about a dry winter, January brought us a lot of rain. So for the time being, the vegetation is hydrated, and we can breathe a little easier about wildfire. (The flip side of all the rain is that the vegetation will be more abundant when we hit fire season later in the year, so think about clearing and maintaining defensible space now!)
From the President
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is almost over, and the holidays are upon us. Although it’s something of a cliché to say it, the year truly has flown by. There are still many things the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council board would like to accomplish, but at the same time we’ve made significant progress over the past 12 months. (See article below.)
From the President
Welcome to the October issue of The Firebreak! We’ve been busy with some administrative tasks, as well as laying the groundwork for the pilot Neighborhood Ambassador program (including starting the Community Wildfire Protection Plan process as part of that effort), so we skipped the September issue of the newsletter.
From the President
Welcome to the August issue of The Firebreak. We took July off because we were busy with so many other things (like getting our bylaws in order in advance of applying for our own nonprofit designation), but we’re back with an issue that seems timelier than ever. On July 27, the Casner fire started near Ramona, triggered by a tractor that was clearing brush and hit a rock, causing a spark. The fire quickly grew to 180 acres. That story had a happy ending—no structures were damaged, and the evacuations it prompted didn’t last long. But it was also an instructive tale, as peak fire season is just around the corner, and we’ll be facing it amid the worst drought in California history, with bone-dry vegetation. It will take very little to start a fire, and we need to be careful and prepared.
From the Chair
Welcome to the June issue of The Firebreak. It’s been an eventful couple of months, and here we are at the cusp of summer. Fire season is upon us—to the extent that there’s a fire “season” anymore—and we all need to get prepared.
To that end, the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council held our second Community Wildfire Preparedness Fair in May, featuring first responders, community organizations and vendors/professionals, plus three presentations on topics of interest to the community. (See article below for more details and photos.)
From the Chair
Welcome to the April issue of The Firebreak newsletter. I’m the new chair of the Olivenhain Fire Safe Council, and we’re looking forward to working with all of Olivenhain and our neighbors to build a more fire-safe and resilient community.