Fire chief urges evacuation planning, offers training after town hydrant praise

Mid-Valley Fire Chief Ted Jenkins told the Town Council on July 14 that the district operates as a single unified entity and has added a four-wheel-drive Class A pumper funded in part through a partial SLIB grant. "The new engine will carry over 1,000 gallons of water and will replace aging equipment," Jenkins said, and he announced a fundraising golf tournament for Aug. 29 with only two team slots remaining.

Jenkins emphasized the town's wildfire exposure in northern neighborhoods such as Spruce Drive and Evergreen Drive and urged residents to have personal evacuation plans. He asked whether the town had a discrete evacuation plan. Mayor Rok responded that a general Emergency Operations Plan exists and that a discrete evacuation plan is an objective in the town's master-plan update; the Mayor also said Natural Resources Coordinator Alyssa Mason had updated the EOP and led a wildfire tabletop exercise that identified communications and staging gaps. Town Administrator Trevor Aitken added that the town holds easements on two northern evacuation routes and plans to grade and clear them where some areas are effectively deadlocked.

Jenkins praised the town's hydrant performance during a May incident, noting hydrant pressure around "110 pounds per square inch," and asked to coordinate training with town water staff so fire protection and water operations align during structure-protection activities. The Mayor said Mason's contact information would be shared so the departments can plan exercises and improve communications in advance of potential wildfire events.