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Committee hears report on Kyma Road brush fire and emergency alerts
Summary
At the June 24 meeting the committee was briefed on a brush fire near Kyma Road; staff said county air operations used water-dropping helicopters and a C-130, a NIXLE alert was issued that evening, and staff activated a hill hydrant and used Friendly Hills Country Club water for operations.
Committee members discussed a brush fire that began the previous Monday near Kyma Road and the town’s emergency response and notifications.
Staff said the NIXLE emergency alert was issued after firefighters gained a clearer sense of the fire’s direction and progress; staff estimated the alert went out “somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.” Several attendees reported the exact time they received the alert varied. Staff described the county air-operations response: two water-dropping helicopters were repeatedly used, a larger 'super scooper' and a C-130 made reconnaissance passes, and retardant was considered and used by at least one retardant aircraft per participants’ reports. The hill hydrant was activated and crews drew water from the Friendly Hills Country Club lakes to support air and ground operations.
Staff said the fire was slowed quickly and described the incident size as “five and a half” (the unit — acres, hectares or another measure — was not specified in the discussion). Committee members thanked responding firefighters and noted that prevailing northwest winds on the day helped limit spread.
No formal emergency-policy changes or action items were adopted at the meeting. Committee members noted differing experiences with alert timing and asked staff to continue coordinating with county fire operations and local notification systems.
