CalFire Ishi Fire Crew preparedness drills this week
May 5—Fire crews from throughout Northern California converged at a site east of Red Bluff, the Ishi Conservation Camp, this week for "hands on" practice in preparation for the upcoming fire season. The annual Ishi Fire Crew Exercise is the largest in the state, where fire crews are put through their paces with real-life scenario training.
The event provides an opportunity for 20 fire crews to be evaluated on safety performance, physical conditioning, handline construction and firefighting knowledge. Preparation for the exercise has been occurring for several weeks. Fire crews hiked approximately four miles into the incident site, construct 300 feet of fire line in heavy brush and deploy fire shelters under simulated emergency conditions.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), in partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Division of Juvenile Justice operate 30 conservation camps throughout California. CalFire, in conjunction with the California Conservation Corps operates fire crews with state corps members. Additionally, CalFire has begun using firefighter hand crews and California National Guard hand crews in some units.
This partnership of state agencies, inmates, wards, firefighters, corps members and National Guard personnel provide a force of trained firefighters who are prepared for all types of emergency incident mitigation and resource conservation, said CalFire officials
For 36 years, the annual Fire Crew Preparedness Exercise at Ishi Conservation Camp, 30502 Plum Creek Road, Paynes Creek has been an important part of preparing for wildland fires.
