Tehachapi News

A lit cigarette is flicked into the weeds; an overheated car pulls onto the shoulder, a campfire smolders into the night. These simple acts can give birth to devastating wildfires.

The greater Tehachapi area, home to more than 35,000 residents, boasts picturesque mountains, majestic oaks and breathtaking views. The area also lays claim to the perfect conditions for ravaging fires.

The wildland-urban interface environment defining the communities of Alpine Forest, Bear Valley Springs, Cameron Canyon, Golden Hills, Hart Flat, Mountain Meadows, Old West Ranch, Sand Canyon, Stallion Springs, Tehachapi City and other unincorporated county areas is the impetus behind the formation of Kern County’s second Fire Safe Council.

The Greater Tehachapi Fire Safe Council, made up of community volunteers and interested professionals, endeavors to communicate the threat of wildfire, educate residents about ways they can safeguard their properties and mitigate the damaging impact of the fiery flames.

To that end, the council commissioned the development of a community wildfire protection plan. The plan, funded through a grant from the Bureau of Land Management, identifies and prioritizes areas in need of hazardous fuels reduction, citing specific types and methods of action. The plan also recommends ways in which we can reduce the ignitability of structures within our communities.

Completed in January, the wildfire protection plan provides the foundation for the council’s educational outreach including an active speaker’s bureau, the development of an educational video and the production of easy-to-understand print materials.

The council is the driving force behind water dip sites designed to provide helicopter units with an immediate source of water during an active fire in our otherwise arid countryside. The council also sponsor community chipper days where residents can bring small tree and brush clippings to designated locations to be ground into mulch free of charge.

In addition to the volunteer effort of the council, Tehachapi area communities have a 10-person fire crew, funded by the Ken County Fire Department, to assist the effort. When not assigned to fire fighting, this crew’s primary focus is hazardous fuels removal projects, such as brushing roads and clearing flammable vegetation from public and private lands.

The Tehachapi-area fire crew also creates fire-safe demonstration lots throughout the Tehachapi area to showcase fire safe private property preparation. Residents are encouraged to visit the demonstration lots to see practical ways to safeguard their properties from fire. The council meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the Golden Hills Community Services District building at the corner of Woodford Tehachapi Road and Old Towne Road at 2 p.m. Interested residents are welcome.

For more information or to request a speaker for a club or organization, call the Tehachapi City Fire Department at 822-2230.