October is, historically, the most dangerous time of year in San Diego County, and Valley Center specifically.
Most of the dangerous wildfires that have ravaged our community have occurred in October, and even more specifically, the last week in October.
The 2003 Paradise fire, which claimed two lives in Valley Center, and over 200 homes, began the last week in October. The Poomacha fire in 2007, which was part of a series of wildfires across the county, destroying most homes on the La Jolla Indian Reservation as well as many homes on the Rincon Reservation, also started the last week in October.
October is a month characterized by cool, crisp weather, interrupted by bouts of warm, dry winds that can reach 50 mph and whip a fire into an inferno in minutes—creating a situation where often the only option for a homeowner is to quickly pile into the car and drive away to leave his or her house to its fate.
From now until the winter rains begin in earnest, residents will be understandably uneasy every time they see tree branches begin to whip with high winds.
Meantime residents CAN do some things to prepare themselves for the upcoming fire season.
Avoid activities that might cause a fire, like using your lawnmower when it’s hot and dry.
Create a defensive space of vegetation around your residence.
Have an emergency plan for yourself and your family just in case you have to evacuate, as the entire community of VC was instructed to do in 2007.
Be aware that the County will most likely use its Reverse 911 calling system in the event of an emergency, but don’t rely on that entirely, because some phone numbers fall through the cracks.
Pay attention to the news: Listen to your radio and TV and watch The Roadrunner’s Web site, www.valleycenter.com, which will be updated frequently during a fire emergency.
The San Diego County Fire Authority reminds homeowners they still have time to help protect themselves by cutting back weeds, dead and dying vegetation and potentially combustible shrubs and vegetation from around their homes.
County codes require homeowners to create 100 feet of defensible space around houses. Ways to do that include: keep irrigated, fire-resistant landscaping around homes trimmed and watered; don’t plant flammable shrubs and trees beneath eaves and attic vents; trim trees that overhang or touch homes; and keep natural vegetation trimmed and thinned.
But be careful when creating defensible space around homes. Use gas and electrical powered equipment during cooler, less windy hours before 10 a.m. when sparks are not as likely to create accidental fires.
One resource to visit is the Wildfire Zone Web site that was paid for by the County and developed by the Farm and Home Advisor's Office of the University of California Cooperative Extension: www.wildfirezone.org/
It has three sections that may be of interest:
• Before a fire… Discover how you can reduce your risk to life and property.
• During a fire… Know what to expect, what to do and where to go for help.
• After a fire… Find the information and assistance needed for you and your family's recovery.
Other Web sites to visit include: Valley Center Fire Protection District: www.vcfpd.org/ or you can get information on the local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) by emailing vccert@hughes.net or by calling 877-204-7269.
You can also see the County’s wildfire preparedness guide at www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/docs/wildfire_preparedness_guide.pdf; the Burn Institute’s “Living with Wildfire” guide at www.burninstitute.org/pdfs/BI-Wildfire-Guide09.pdf; Cal Fire at www.fire.ca.gov; and “Fire, Defensible Space and You,” at www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/fire_resistant.html.
VCFPD open house Thursday
In observance of Fire Protection week (Oct. 4–10) the Valley Center Fire Protection District will conduct a Fire Station Open House at each VCFPD fire station on Thursday, Oct. 8, between the hours of 6–8:30 p.m.
All residents and families in Valley Center and surrounding areas are invited to visit their closest neighborhood fire station and meet the firefighters.
There will be safety demonstrations and handouts available from the Valley Center Fire Safe Council and Valley Center CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members. And, of course, the kids can see fire engines up close!
The addresses of the fire stations are:
Station 71, 14946 Vesper Rd.
Station 72, 28234 Lilac Rd.
Station 73, 28205 N. Lake Wohlford Rd.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week, visit www.fireprevention week.org/ Questions call the district at 760-751-7600.Rincon open house Oct. 11
On the evening of Oct. 8, 1871, legend says, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a kerosene lantern, igniting the Great Chicago Fire that took 250 lives, burned 17,400 structures and did an estimated $200 million in property loss.
In commemoration of that fire President Woodrow Wilson in 1920 issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation.
That is the origin of National Fire Prevention Week, which is this week.
In commemoration the Rincon Fire Dept., in cooperation with Harrah’s Rincon Resort, will host its first annual Fire Prevention Day on Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at the Rincon fire station, 333485 Valley Center. Rd., and in the Harrah’s parking lot, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way. Transportation between the two locations will be provided.
You are invited to join the fun, meet the Rincon firefighters, tour the station and see the apparatus.
Food and beverages will be available all day. Activities include fire department displays, emergency scenarios, fire engines and fire ladder trucks from various departments on display, California Highway Patrol and Sheriff’s Dept. vehicles, local professional sports figures, including former Major League Baseball’s most valuable player Kevin Mitchell.
There will be drawings for prizes, such as tickets to local amusement parks, with proceeds going to the Burn Institute of San Diego.
A schedule of the day’s events is shown below:
11 a.m.–noon, Mercy Air Ambulance
noon–1 p.m., fire truck ladder operations
1–2 p.m., fire helicopter water drops
2–3 p.m. live simulation of a vehicle rescue using the Jaws of Life, conducted by the Rincon Reservation Fire Dept.
Bring the family and join the fire crew at Harrah’s and the Rincon fire station.Mountain fire crew prepares for disaster
The sound is something that many of us in our 40s, 50s or 60s remember from the Cold War and older people remember from WWII: an air raid siren, a rising, wailing sound that brings the hairs on your scalp to full attention.
Residents in the Crestline area of Palomar Mountain heard that sound Saturday morning. To be precise, some heard it. But if Palomar Mountain Volunteer Fire (PMVFD) Chief George Lucia has his way, many more will hear the sound the next time there is a fire drill—which he hopes to do every year.
This is Fire Prevention Week. To help observe it the fire department held a two-hour drill of a potential fire that might start off Crestline from the north along the canyon and prevent residents from getting out using normal egress roads.
Firefighters practiced keeping a continuous flow of water on a target house for 45 minutes. They ferried a water tender at ten minute intervals between the house, where they deployed a 3,000 gallon portable tank and the station, which has over 20,000 gallons in storage underground and in an aboveground tank.
The challenge for fire departments in rural areas is the lack of fire hydrants, typically an unlimited water source. PMVFD’s water sources consist of private water tanks and drafting from other water sources made available.
While the volunteers practiced keeping a fire away from the house, members of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) from Fallbrook, Valley Center and Palomar (including the new members from Palomar Observatory) took residents through a backwoods evacuation route that would be used if Crestline Road was cut off and there was no other way out.
About ten cars followed a fire engine over rough, narrow forest roads that allow one way traffic and which several times passed through private gates. Bringing up the rear was a CERT off road Gator from Valley Center. Beginning on Crestline about 10:30 a.m., 30 minutes later the caravan arrived on the paved road of Conifer, which exits onto the East Grade (S-7). For some drivers it was an alarmingly circuitous road that they said they could never have followed without a pilot car.
CERT members had previously practiced the mock evacuation at night, which is just as likely as a daylight evacuation.
“Day can easily turn to night during a fire, as we have seen before,” observed Lucia, who pronounced himself very pleased with the drill and during a post mortem held with participants at the fire station, asked for comments.
Several residents said they didn’t hear the siren, which is mounted on the roof of the station.
“If it was in the middle of the night, with the wind blowing, it wouldn’t wake me,” said another.
Others said it was the first time they had seen the back way out. “There are twenty different ways to get lost,” said one.
Lucia said he hopes to put other sirens at the water district office on Crestline Road, a mile from the station, and at Palomar Observatory.
Lucia persuaded the Vista Fire District to donate the old siren to the volunteers. It had not been in service for a quarter century. After it was refurbished and mounted on the roof, the first time it was used it blew off decades of dust. You can see a video of this on our Web site: www.valleycenter.com/
Battalion Chief Cliff Kellogg said that while he was impressed with the exercise, he wants to improve the time (7 minutes) it took to initially start putting water on the mock fire. “I was very happy with the whole operation,” he said.
Lucia said that while it is important to deploy equipment quickly, it is even more important to deploy correctly. “Slower is better,” he said. “Take the time to put gear and assess the situation.”
Six radio frequencies were used that included Emergency Fire Channels, GMRS, HAM, CALTECH Observatory, Christian Conference Center and the Sixth Grade Camp. Other communication included instant messaging between the Incident Commander and the dispatch center at the station.
“Communication is key to all of us,” said Lucia, who added, “This is probably the toughest terrain for communications that you’ll find. Some state-of-the-art 800 MHz radios don’t work well here.”
The Roadrunner asked Chief Lucia how the volunteers are dealing with the new County requirements for volunteer firefighters. He said it hasn’t affected the department and that there are actually more volunteers this year than this time last year.
“PMVFD continues to take care of business and train its own while adapting to new San Diego County mandates for volunteer fire stations,” commented Susie Kellogg, fire board president, after the exercise.
This is Part II of an interview conducted with Randy Goodson, CEO and president of the Accretive Group, which proposes a large development along Old Hwy 395 and I-15.
Note: The entire interview is available on our Website: www.valleycenter.com/
* * *
Q: Some neighbors of properties you own object to have a road go through their property to serve your development? How do you respond?
A: We don’t have a road going through anyone else’s property to serve our development. The county is in charge of identifying the alignment of community serving roads and encourage everyone to work with the county on any alignment issues.
Q: Wouldn’t it simplify things to offer to put the road through your property?
A: Absolutely and we will do that as long as there is a mechanism to maintain a fair relationship between the costs and the benefits of the road or any infrastructure that we offer to build or are required to build.
Q: You and the planning group obviously have a disagreement over whether it supports Road 3A, which would serve your development. You have handed out documents that say that the planning group supports Road 3A. Historically we know that the planning group in 2006 voted to support Road 3A when it was included on a map without explanation by DPLU. The group has since then unambiguously opposed the road. Do you feel that its votes since 2006 are invalid?
A: The road is not necessary for our development. Rather it is a county issue. We have from time to time sought to clarify statements that are made by the planning group about us and things that we are doing, which is also why we videotape the planning group and show those videos with anyone who asks to see them. We are not here to defined the road or to argue for or against the road. However, we will argue against any road that connects Cole Grade to West Lilac Road without completing a new road out to the I-15 from West Lilac. The planning group’s proposal, as you stated in your question, is to dump about 11,000 car trips a day on W. Lilac Road, a small, 24 foot wide road that provides access to our property in at least two locations. And it would be unacceptable for a road to be built that would cause west lilac tremendous failures and therefore prevent the development of our property because regional traffic has caused the road that provides access to our properties to fail.
Q: On the question of roads, Supervisor Horn has said that the development you propose would pay for the access road. DPLU has estimated that such a road would cost $40 million. Since the County doesn’t build roads anymore, except ones paid for by developers, do you see this $40 million coming from your development?
A: We have asked that same question of the County ever since the road was proposed and have not received a clear answer. I can tell you that we fear that we will be required to pay for the road and not have enough housing units to spread the costs among.
Q: This region is under severe water restrictions. Where will the water come from to serve your development?
A: Water supplies are a regional issue. Our business is accommodating the existing population growth and we are not creating growth by providing housing for people who already live here and water will have to be dealt with by the water agencies and regional and state government. We do expect our average homebuyer to be 31.5 years old and to relocate from within San Diego County. As such we are not increasing water demands, but rather decreasing them by providing housing with modern water conservation and recycling facilities. In addition, single family homes on two to four acres as is currently the plan for this area, use far more water than single family homes on smaller lots. Making a modern planned community much more sustainable to accommodate a growing population than the existing zoning in the area.
Q: You have said your development will be served by the VC Municipal Water District. VCMWD Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant says he has not be approached by you. How do you respond?
A: We don’t have a development application and we will work with the water district, school district, the parks and rec district, even the cemetery district. Once we start the processing of our development application that will occur after the PAA discussed above.
Q: Arant has said your property is outside of the service area of the Moosa plant. Do you anticipate being served by some other plant or district?
A: We will work with VCMWD to come up with a service plan for water and sewer.
Q: Arant has also said that if a Moosa expansion is possible, that the treated water must be disposed of on land that the developer owns (i.e., not leased land). Do you have land you are willing to designate for this purpose?
A: We will work with the water district on reuse plan that meets all requirements.
Q: Your draft preliminary application authorization request to the County stated that a community facilities district would probably have to be created to support infrastructure for your development. Do you have an estimated cost for this infrastructure? Or how much a homeowner would have to pay in Mello Roos taxes in future property bills?
A: No, it’s simply that it is not necessary to be included in the preliminary applications. During the course of processing a general plan amendment, a public infrastructure financing plan has to be prepared that would disclose costs that could be included in a community facilities district.
Q: Is there any other subject you would like to get into?
A: I would encourage people to call me or email me if they have questions or thoughts or concerns that they would like to share or discuss.
Sally Cobb, owner of Tapestry Meadows horse boarding facility off Circle R Drive near I-15, will appeal to the VC Planning Group to assist her in her struggle to obtain a major use permit from the Dept. of Planning & Land Use to operate her business.
The planning group meeting will be Monday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. at VC Community Hall.
Seven years after moving into the ten acre property, Mrs. Cobb has spent $100,000 in her quest to obtain a permit to board horses. She says that requirements that the County made on her, along with an incompetent county planner or two, added several delays and expense to the process, and that the County compounded the situation by blaming her for the delays.
Mrs. Cobb’s story will be told in next week’s paper.
However, she does face a sympathetic hearing from the planning group.
According to its chairman, Oliver Smith, “I believe the expansion of the Tapestry Meadows Equestrian Center project scope from a small submittal to the current Major Use Permit with required road paving proposal is a good example of how the DPLU seems to be running amok in its own regulations. They appear to be setting overbearing requirement precedents without common sense or situational understanding. It seems to be particularly prevalent when an applicant lacks resources to fight what to me is an obvious misuse of process.”
The County has taken a somewhat different tack (pun intended). According to Gig Conaughton, a spokesman for DPLU: “The County expected the Major Use Permit application process for this property would have been completed and resolved by now. However, since the Tapestry Meadows property first submitted a Major Use Permit application in 2006, the owner requested—and the County has granted—five time-extensions to complete the studies and work that we originally asked to review.”
Cub Scouts from Pack 619 tested theories about soda can buoyancy over the summer. Pack 619 is gearing up for another exciting year. Last week members held their annual Roundup to introduce new Scouts and their parents to the pack. They are recruiting boys in grades 1–5. Learn how to tie knots, use a compass, safely build a campfire and more. Questions? Call Don Hakes at 760-751-7323 or email hakesd@vcweb.org. See story, A3.
The undefeated Valley Center Jaguar varsity football team will host Westview on Friday night as the team celebrates homecoming.
The Jags, who have defeated San Pasqual, La Jolla, Brawley and Mater Dei to earn their 4–0 record so far this season, will take on a 3–1 Westview team that is averaging 32 points per game.
The game will feature a halftime celebration, including floats prepared by each high school class, as well as the selection of this year’s homecoming king and queen.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., but get their early to find a parking spot!
Valley View Casino will hold the Valley View Casino Art, Music & Wine Festival on Sunday, Oct. 11.
The event will feature more than 30 local artists of various mediums, ten wineries including Robert Mondavi, Charles Krug, Chateau St. Michelle, Ferrari-Carano and Coppola and several unique food purveyors all in the casino’s open air event center from noon to 6 p.m.
“We have the best guests in the world and we wanted to create an event where they can enjoy fine wine, great live music, top-notch art and unrivaled guest service all wrapped around the best casino experience in San Diego,” said Bruce Howard, general manager at Valley View Casino.
The juried art festival, free to attend, will display a wide range of work from artists throughout Southern California in addition to live music, food vendors and fine wineries.
Live music performances include: Len Rainey and the Midnight Players; Westwind Brass; Carlos Olmeda and Chris Klich. "This event is consistent to the brand experience we provide here at Valley View Casino because it’s all about fine dining, a great atmosphere and fun, all at a great value," said Ric Militi, vice president of marketing at Valley View Casino.
Other sponsors of the event include KPRI-FM, FOX 5 San Diego and the San Diego Reader.
All Valley View Casino Players Club members will receive a special discounts and offers on their art purchases simply for showing their Valley View Casino Players Club card. Joining the Valley View Casino Players Club is easy and free. Note that the Valley View Casino Art, Music & Wine Festival is open for guests 21 or older.
On Sept. 26 VC artist and WWII POW Don Schloat was on hand for the unveiling of a monument to the 1944 Palawan Massacre in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines.
The massacre occurred on Dec. 14, 1944 during the occupation of the island of Palawan by the Japanese. On that day the Japanese guards at Palawan ordered American POWs into air raid shelters and set the shelters on fire. As the soldiers tried to escape they were machine gunned, decapitated and clubbed to death. Of the American POWs, only 11 survived the massacre.
Schloat, who was a POW nearby on the same island when the massacre occurred, and knew many of those who died in it, has captured this horror in a series of paintings, and he incorporated the design of those paintings into his creation of the Palawan Massacre Monument.
The monument contains the names of all those who died on that day, including U.S. Marines, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy personnel, a total of 119 men.
The pleasures of fall include the joys of cooler weather and the excitement of such rites of autumn as Friday night’s Homecoming festivities at Jaguar Stadium.
After being buffeted by HOT and dry days of summer, including two weeks of unremitting heat, it’s a relief to feel the tang of autumn in the air and to experience night time temperatures in the 50s.
Cooler weather always means high school football. This Friday the Jags will meet their traditional foes, Westview, in a battle that promises to be exciting (See story, A1). There will be much to savor, including the naming of the Homecoming King and Queen and various royalty from the junior, sophomore and freshman classes.
So, enjoy the cooler weather, cheer on the Jags, but keep out a weather eye for changes in the weather that might bring on fire weather (see our story, A1).
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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