FROM THE CHIEF’S CORNER: SCHOOL IS BACK AND SO ARE SPORTS INJURIES!
By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna September 12, 2013 (San Diego) – School is now back in session and along with it comes sports! With over 30 million youths participating in sports, injuries are very likely to occur. Most sports related injuries can be prevented with some basic preventive measures says Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna. Keeping in shape “prior” to the season is a good start. It’s still hot, so take it easy on hot or humid days and keep hydrated. Warm up prior to engaging is also important. Many schools require a physical exam before starting a school sport. Check with your child’s school. You may even want to have your child get a physical from your family physician. Concussions A direct blow to the head, or a hit to the body that causes the head to jerk back quickly, can result in a concussion. Signs and symptoms may include a loss of consciousness. Heat Illnesses Extreme temperatures, particularly when combined with high humidity or intense sunlight, can interfere with the body’s normal ways of regulating temperature. Heat illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, occur mostly outside and during the summer, but can happen anytime or anywhere. Orthopedic Injuries Sprains, strains, growth-plate fractures (damage to areas of cartilage near the ends of developing bones), tendonitis, and other injuries to bones, ligaments, and joints can be caused by falls, but also by overtraining in one sport. Knee injuries are also among the most costly. The sports with the worst knee injury rate are football and wrestling among boys, and basketball and soccer for girls. Make sure you check with your school district and ensure your child is prepared before participating in school sports. For additional sports related prevention and information, visit: http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/SportsInjuries.html Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna *Note: The information in this article was compiled from various sources. These suggestions are not a complete list of every preventative or loss control measure. The information is not intended to replace additional safety manuals or the advice of another qualified professional(s). We make no guarantee of results from use of this information. We assume no liability in connection with the information nor the suggestions made.
HIGHWAY 94 CLUB TO HOST WINETASTING EVENT SEPT. 19
September 12, 2013 (Barrett Junction) The Highway 94 Club will showcase local wines at a special tasting event Thursday September 19 at the Barrett Junction Café, 1020 Barrett Lake Road in Dulzura. Everyone (at least 21 years old) is invited. Come and meet the vintners, learn a little about grape growing and wine making and taste some excellent wines. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on the back patio of the café. Dinner is $9 per person and the wine tasting is complimentary with each purchased dinner. Winemaking is taking hold in East County. Local wine grape growers and wine makers are starting small, boutique wineries on their properties. These vineyards are beginning to produce some very high quality wines. Over the past few years, several of these wines have won Gold, Silver and Bronze awards at the San Diego County Fair’s yearly Amateur Wine Competition. The end goal for some of these producers is to become bonded so that they may sell their wine to the public. A few of the vintners in the East County have already gone through this process. Wine grapes have a much lower impact on water consumption than many traditional crops and winemaking also helps boost the local economy, producing jobs for those who maintain vines, harvest grapes, and bottle the wines, for example.
RITE AID ROBBED ON MISSION GORGE ROAD
September 11, 2013 (Grantville) – At 7:55 p.m. on September 7, a man entered the Rite-Aid at 6505 Mission Gorge Road. The man walked up to the counter with some items. He pulled out a knife and demanded cash from the clerk. The clerk refused to give him any cash. The suspect fled and the clerk followed the suspect of the store. According to Officer Frank Cali with San Diego Police, the suspect turned around and pointed the knife at the clerk again, the clerk backed away and the suspect fled the area. Officers checked the area and found a male matching the suspect’s description in the 4600 block of Zion. Michael Bowen, 34 was positively identified and was arrested for the robbery.
WHY ARE SHELTERS CLOSING DURING EVACUATIONS? LYONS VALLEY FIRE REVEALS DISTURBING PATTERN
By Nadin Abbott; editor Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report Photo credti: UCSD’s HPWren webcam atop Lyon’s Peak An advisory evacuation clearly means that authorities believe those homes are at risk of burning. But by not opening shelters– or closing shelters unannounced in the middle of an emergency–officials are sending a disturbing signal: If you leave now, you’re on your own. September 10, 2013 (San Diego) East County Magazine has encountered disturbing issues with emergency shelters found closed during three major evacuations in the past two months alone. How many other times has this have occurred—and what can be done to better protect residents during disasters? Today, we brought the issue to the County Board of Supervisors at a public hearing. The first troubling incident occurred during the Chariot Fire this summer. ECM visited a shelter announced by authorities at Alpine High School around 8:30 p.m. on the first evening of the fire. We found the place empty, not even a note for anyone who arrived, though hundreds had been told to evacuate from the Mount Laguna area and roads were blocked to prevent anyone from going home. The fast and inexplicable shut-down allowed no time for evacuees to check in who may have first stopped to eat dinner at a roadside diner or picked up supplies, only to find the shelter closed. (By the second day this shelter was reopened and provided a place for people to stay overnight.) During the Mt. Helix SWAT incident that lasted 15 hours in our editor’s neighborhood, a Sheriff’s media representative told ECM that a shelter was being opened at the Skyline Church. We later heard that no shelter was set up, even though some residents were evacuated in armored trucks and others were barred by roadblocks from coming home until after the gunman was declared dead at 3:30 a.m. or so. Yesterday at 3:30 p.m. during the Lyons Fire, the Sheriff sent notices to residents informing them to evacuate and go to the Jamul Primary School. Soon after, the County Emergency Services also sent a similar notice listing the school as a shelter. ECM visited the school site at 6:30 at night. Again, the shelter–the evacuation point–was closed. No notice was sent to media about the change in status, and area residents say they were not informed either. We learned from Kim Hamilton, editor at the Deerhorn Antler that “People didn’t know they couldn’t get into the area until they came home from work. Then they were pressed to find a place to stay.” That would be around the time we visited the Jamul Primary School. During other recent wildfires, I’ve driven all the way from San Diego to rural areas, arriving to find an announced shelter not open yet or stocked with supplies. Eventually supplies arrived, much to the relief of hot, tired and thirsty residents left waiting in extreme weather conditions. I’ve taken to carrying water and blankets for just such occasions now. This morning, Supervisors held a hearing on wildfire readiness issues, including a presentation by the Red Cross on improvements made since the 2007 firestorms. As a former Red Cross incident commander in Mexico, I know that we kept shelters open there at least 24 hours, no exceptions. After I testified to the Supervisors about the problems with shelter closures locally with no notifications, Supervisor Dianne Jacob asked me to step outside the hearing room and speak with Leslie Luke, the Group Program Manager, in the County Office of Emergency Services. He said that he will be looking into it, and asking questions of the Red Cross as to what happened. It was pointed out to him that there were Red Cross vehicles near the Command Post, which is five miles from the school as the crow flies but more like 20 miles over winding, narrow backcountry roads. There was also some confusion over evacuations, purely misunderstanding by multiple media outlets given that the California Highway Patrol posted on its website that CHP had cleared the area east of Four Corners, on Lyons Valley Rd. The Sheriff Nixle alert to residents also advised residents east of those areas to evacuate. So today while waiting for the meeting to start, I had an opportunity to talk with Captain Mike Moehler of Cal Fire. Moehler explained to ECM that an advisory notice to evacuate means that there was a face-to-face contact with residents (as well as the Nixle alerts from the Sheriff sent via text messages). Residents were told there is a fire, but it was not mandatory to leave. Cal Fire considers an evacuation mandatory only when the reverse 911 system is activated. Having done emergency services myself, I am aware that especially early on, getting accurate information can at times be as challenging as getting emergency crews in. We all try, and it can be frustrating at times. I am also aware that the priority is to get people out of what is called in Emergency Services the “hot zone” — the highest risk area for both property and life. To firefighters’ credit, no structures were lost or damaged in yesterday’s blaze that as of this writing, has charred 450 acres, and no lives were lost. But providing shelter after people leave these evacuation areas should be a high priority as well, even if evacuations are not mandatory. People need to know that if media tells them that a shelter is open, they can rely on that information and will find an open shelter. Not only does it make media look bad when inaccurate and misleading information is provided to media by emergency providers and the County, but ultimately the population will lose trust in emergency providers and the County. How reliable is shelter information relayed to media and the public by County representatives – and will the County take steps to correct this disturbing pattern of misinformation during critical times? For a family with limited resources, such as not enough money to refill a
CONVERSATION WITH THE LAKESIDE FIRE CHIEF SEPT. 12
September 11, 2013 (Lakeside) – On Thursday, September 12, from 9 to 11 a.m., Lakeside Fire Chief Andy Parr will hold a “Conversation with the Lakeside Fire Chief.” The event will be held at the Lakeside Community Center at Lindo Lake Park.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: BEAUTY AFTER THE STORM
September 11, 2013 (Boulevard) — Melody Ponchot found beauty after the recent storms on September 2 and September 7 at the ranch where she lives in Boulevard, from golden rays to rainbows. For those who ask why people want to leave way out in rural East County, here are a few inspiring reasons! Click “read more” and scroll down to view more.
SUPERVISORS APPROVE LAND PURCHASE ADJACENT TO BORREGO VALLEY AIRPORT
By Miriam Raftery September 11, 2013 (San Diego) – Today, Supervisors approved the acquisition of over 14 acres of vacant land adjacent to Borrego Valley airport. The purchase aims to create a buffer zone between the airport and private properties to protect approach and departure routes. The property is listed for sale at $20,000. No one spoke in favor of the measure. One speaker, Robert Germann of Lakeside, spoke against, calling it a “waste of taxpayer money.” Germann said the aviation industry has been in decline locally. Private pilots have dropped in numbers from 245,230 a decade ago to 188,001 today, he said, citing the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Borrego has only 28 aircraft based there, he added. He also questioned why there were no letters of support on file from the city of Borrego Springs, the Borrego Planning Group, or the San Diego Hammerheads, an aerobatic flying club based in Borrego. Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of the acquisition, with Supervisor Gregg Cox absent.
CHEERS! GERMAN AMERICAN SOCIETIES’ OKTOBERFEST IN EL CAJON SEPT. 25-27 AND OCT. 4-6
The German American Societies of San Diego, Inc., will host its traditional Oktoberfest on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October. The event will be held at 1017 South Mollison in El Cajon. The Guggenbach-Buam, band joins the festivities from Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Hear a song by the band here. Visitors are also invited to savor authentic German food, such as bratwurst, ox-on-the-spit, potato salad, potato pancakes, sauerkraut, red cabbage and a variety of German pastries, along with a selection of German beers and liquors. The musicians dress in traditional clothing and play a variety of German music, just as you would hear in the beer gardens in Bavaria. You can hear songs from the chicken dance, to polkas and waltzes, dance or sing along to Oom-pah tunes. Other activities include traditional folk dancing performances, games and contests, vendor and craft booths, and a Kids’ Zone. For more information, see http://germanclubsandiego.org/
ART IN THE PARK OCTOBER 5 UNVEILS WORKS BY 40 AWARD-WINNING ARTISTS
September 12, 2013 (San Diego)– Saturday evening, October 5 the second annual Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation’s “Art in the Park” will be held. Featured art by more than 40 award-winning artists will be on display and for sale, with over 100 pieces of nature-related art featuring a variety of painting styles, ceramics, photography, and sculptures. Artists will also be in attendance representing their art. CBS8 Meteorologist and lifestyle reporter Shawn Styles, and Mission Publishing Group publisher, Jim Madaffer return as honorary co-chairs for this event in the Visitor Center from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are required. There will also be a silent and a live auction; for $25 guests can enjoy an evening of fine art, fine wine, fine cheese, and fine chocolate (by Xocai healthy chocolate). Entertainment will be provided by members of the San Diego Native American Flute Circle followed by the Caprice Strings Trio. The San Diego Astronomy Association will have telescopes on the Terrace for viewing the stars. Here is the link to order tickets or go to “More News” on the Mission Trails home page at mtrp.org.
SDG&E BRINGS BACK AIR CRANE FOR FIRE SEASON
Photos by Billy Ortiz September 11, 2013 (San Diego) — San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has renewed agreements with the County and City of San Diego and firefighting agencies to make a heavy-lift air-crane available to support fire suppression efforts during fire season again this year. With the Erickson Air-Crane back in San Diego and ready for action, any fire agency with legal responsibility and authority to suppress wildland fires may request support of the helitanker to respond to a fire incident. The 70-foot-long air-crane can be dispatched by San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to a fire in 20 minutes with as much as 1,000 gallons of water at takeoff and can release up to 2,500 gallons in a single water drop. The sky crane, also capable of hoisting heavy loads, was originally used locally for construction of the Sunrise Powerlink.