Wildland Fire Preparedness Drill Planned For Monday, June 6
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SUSANVILLE, Calif. – Efforts to prepare firefighters for the upcoming fire season are in progress. A drill to enable the Bureau of Land Management's wildland fire fighters to practice their skills and evaluate their program will take place Monday June 6, at 9:30 a.m. in the Jack's Valley area off of Hwy 139, 7 miles north of Susanville.
"Northern California District BLM is committed to firefighter safety and the safety of the public in all areas of wildland fire management," said Walter Herzog, Northern California District fire management officer. "This field exercise will be reviewed for operational proficiency and aims to improve firefighter safety."
Herzog said preparedness is an important step in wildland fire management. It is a continuous process that includes developing plans at the state/regional and national levels, predicting fire activity, hiring, training, and deploying wildland firefighters, evaluating performance, and improving overall operations. Preparedness takes place throughout the year, with routine evaluations of firefighters, training records and equipment.
In this drill fire crews will be dispatched to a simulated wildland fire and respond to various scenarios that would likely occur during a real incident. Fire program managers will observe and evaluate their responses and discuss them during a debriefing following the exercise.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.