Wildland-Urban Interface fire exercise to be held on the Ridge

By Jim Broshears

With assistance from FEMA’s National Exercise Program, the Town of Paradise in collaboration with the Butte County Office of Emergency Management is sponsoring a multi-agency wildland fire exercise on June 15, 2023, from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The exercise will take place in parts of Magalia and upper Paradise and will be based on a simulated wildland fire with threats to residential structures and community infrastructure. This scenario will result in a simulated evacuation of the areas affected by the exercise (no actual evacuations will take place).

The purpose of the exercise is to apply lessons learned from the Camp Fire After Action Review. It will enable the participating agencies to practice the many facets encountered during an actual wildland fire, from the initial dispatch, coordinated response, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activation, evacuation requirements and notifications and the need for sheltering and communicating with the community.

Agencies that are invited to participate include Town Police and Public Works, Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire, CHP, USFS, Cal State Parks, Cal Trans, the City of Chico Police, Fire and Public Works, Red Cross, North Valley Animal Disaster Group, the Paradise Unified School District, Paradise Parks and Recreation District, Paradise Irrigation District, Del Oro Water and Adventist Health Feather River.

The exercise will also be used to test the Town’s new Early Warning System which consists of 21 towers that can provide both voice and siren notification to citizens dur - ing many types of emergencies. The warning system was a high priority identified by citizens during the Long-Term Recovery Plan process.

In addition to letting our citizens know about the exercise, we would also like to use this as an opportunity for residents to prepare for an actual emergency. By accessing the “Be Ready Butte” website at bereadybutte.com you can access information about evacuation preparedness, family emergency plans, Go-bags, preparing your home, defensible space and much more.

We are sensitive to the fact that many people are still affected by situations that trigger a reminder of what we experienced in 2018 and hope that they will find some solace that preparations like this will reduce the impact of future wildland fires on our communities and our citizens.

BILL HR176, from from both sides of the aisle. But unfortunately, this bill doesn’t score well with their rating system (all bills have a rating) and we are pretty much guaranteed it would not pass as a stand-alone bill— it would have to be bundled with other bills. There is also talk of perhaps expanding this bill to include all human-caused disasters, which would make it a more expensive bill, but could garner support from southern senators where there is a lot of opposition. succulents, and stones make for the perfect sustainable gift that will last for years! Free

I was also told that this bill would not pass by April 15th-- the earliest would be this summer, but it would be retroactive. We did walk away with a cautiously optimistic feeling that this bill would pass.

A lot of hard work is continuing on this bill. I had an opportunity to have a late dinner with our congressman and his chief of staff. We talked even more about the bill, and I believe we have the right people leading the charge. On Thursday, February 9, at 5:00 pm we left for home with several productive meetings behind us and a great feeling of accomplishment.

I want to thank all my colleagues that invited me to accompany them. It shows that even though we are from different fires and walks of life, we were able to come together for one cause and show our unity. I want to thank the citizens of Paradise for allowing me to represent them in this important venture.

I want to thank all my colleagues that invited me to accompany them. It shows that even though we are from different fires and walks of life, we were able to unite for an important cause and strengthen our case for wildfire victim tax relief. I want to thank the citizens of Paradise for allowing me to represent them in this important venture. If you are so inclined, you could write a letter to Congressmen LaMalfa and Thompson telling them why it is so important that this bill passes, and remind them that California has already exempted taxes on the FVT.