On May 7, the Oracle Firewise and Oracle Fire District held a Free Brush Dump Day for Oracle Fire District residents at Oracle’s Brush Dump in conjunction with the National Wildfire Preparedness Day, always held the first Saturday of May. The event was funded by a $500 grant received from the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) and State Farm.
The event was very successful, bypassing the 2021 number of participating residents by 40. One hundred twenty residents brought in cut, dead vegetation in truck beds, trailers, and dump trucks. Assisting the residents with unloading the brush were national forestry wildland crews from the Coronado National Forest Catalina-Rincon District, and two California crews from Six Rivers and Tahoe. Approximately 20 Oracle Firewise and CERT members volunteered and managed the event.
Two evacuation kits designed for a quick evacuation were filled with the basic needs (toiletries, flashlight/batteries, water and snacks) as recommended by NFPA and FEMA. The grant funded these boxes which were raffled to the Oracle Fire District residents who participated. Two recipients were awarded the boxes. One wished to remain anonymous and the other was Oracle resident, Dena Boren with daughter, Nicolette.
Evacuation box winner, Dena Boren with daughter Nicolette.
Firefighter/EMT Michael Vargas giving a tour of OFD.
Dena Boren and daughter Nicolette investigating the items in their evacuation box.