Fire official: new helipad and partnerships bolstered San Clemente's wildfire response

A San Clemente fire representative told the Safety & Welfare Committee on June 25 that the department has handled 2,473 calls year-to-date, including 14 structure fires, about 1,700 medical responses and 757 miscellaneous incidents.

The speaker said crews contained several recent vegetation fires, citing an April 7 incident held to about 1 acre, a June 11 brush fire of about 12.5 acres near Pico, and a larger complex that burned in the Camp Pendleton area and topped 2,000 acres before turning away from San Clemente. The representative said aerial resources, dozers and hand crews were deployed and no city structures were lost in those events.

Committee members singled out a new helicopter water-resupply device — described as a ‘‘helipad/helipod’’ — purchased through Supervisor Foley's office and installed on Ridgeline Trail on June 9. The fire representative said crews filled and used that device during the June 15 response, calling the installation a successful partnership between the city, homeowners and fire personnel.

The representative also described WatchDuty, a private app that aggregates radio traffic, camera feeds and evacuation alerts. Committee members discussed promoting WatchDuty alongside official county alerts but cautioned that cellular-service limitations mean it should not replace county-run Alert OC notifications.

Committee members said the department is preparing for an active fire season and asked staff to highlight the city's detailed mitigation plan and preparedness information on the municipal website.

The committee did not take formal action on the report; the department said it will continue outreach and provide website links to the committee for public distribution.