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The Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department and the East Bay Regional Park District Fire Department will be hosting live fire training burns at the Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area in Pleasanton this week in order to train new firefighters from various fire agencies in Alameda County, according to a joint press release from the two departments.
LPFD battalion chief Matt Thau told the Weekly these planned burns are the best way to train firefighters because it provides a real experience of what happens during a wildfire, but in a controlled setting.
“As we’ve seen the fire season turn into the fire year, it’s more critical than ever to get people trained,” Thau said. “The ability to have live fire training is paramount for teaching students how to fight fire with fire as well as bringing fire back to the landscape as a tool to reduce the fuel loading in the area.”
Fuel loading refers to the measurable amount of grass, brush, and trees on the land that could fuel fires.
According to the joint press release, the two fire departments will begin the controlled burns starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and the training will last until 3 p.m. each day. The fire departments will be burning approximately 25 acres of grassland in the western area of the Shadow Cliffs recreation area, according to the two agencies.
According to the joint press release, Shadow Cliffs will remain open to the public but there will be trails which will be closed in order to “ensure public safety.”
Other fire agencies including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Hayward Fire, Oakland Fire, Berkeley Fire and Alameda County Fire departments will also participate in the fire training.
According to the press release, the training itself will cover “fire behavior, fighting fire with fire, holding operations and mobile attack.”
“Live fire training provides invaluable opportunities for agencies to work together, coordinating resources and expanding knowledge for safer and more effective fire suppression operations,” according to the joint press release.
The burns will also help support the regional park district’s programs for vegetation management, hazardous fuel load reduction, and wildlife habitat improvement “by removing noxious weeds and accumulated fuels.”
“These programs enhance the health of the park by promoting growth of native grass and flowers and reducing the severity of future wildfires,” according to the press release.
In order to minimize the impact to the surrounding communities, the fire agencies stated that they have been working with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to plan the live burns to occur on days where the weather is favorable so that the smoke can be dispersed throughout the training.
Thau explained that the agencies wanted to avoid high fire danger days or days where there are high pressure air domes in the Tri-Valley, which are both unfavorable conditions for live burns.
He said both Tuesday and Wednesday show favorable conditions per weather experts but added that the fire agencies have set Thursday as a contingency date in case weather conditions significantly change.
One would rather they had done this a little earlier in the season, before things were so dry. We certainly need our firefighters well-trained and experienced in wildfire fighting techniques. But controlled burns can be dangerous.
Thanks for giving us a heads-up. Shadow Cliffs is close to my home.