Alpine Fire Protection District held an open house on Oct. 1 for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. There were display tables from law-enforcement agencies, fire trucks open for young children to explore, Smokey the Bear and even a clown on site but mostly, there were children all over with wide smiles and red balloons.
Glancing around the open bay of the fire station on Tavern road, Alpine Fire Chief Brian Boggeln said it was “a great turnout” for the event. “We haven’t had this for the past two years and it’s really good to see so many people come out for this,” Boggeln said.
Granite Hills High school Key Club members were on hand to pass out plastic fire hats to younger children along with slap bracelets, magnets and goodie bags filled with coloring books. Alongside three young girls handing trinkets to children, a second group of Key Clubbers gave stress balls to adults, potentially useful after the children collected candy from the large bowl atop the next table in line: Sunrise Powerlink Fire Mitigation Grants program.
“This program has got millions of dollars in it and there’s nothing else like it in the area. When Sunrise Powerlink was energized on June 18, 2012 this program became active,” representative Bonnie Burchill said.
The grants program, she said, is intended for homeowners who want to harden their homes and surrounding property against fires.
To her right, Deputy Sheriff Travis Hoberecht stood behind a table full of tools chosen specifically to pique the interest of young children. Grinning, Hoberecht showed off a rifle which shoots what Hoberecht described as 40 millimeter nerf rounds for a “less lethal round” as well as a Throwbot designed to help explore rooms that might not be safe to enter.
“We can send this in to look for people inside rooms where someone has barricaded themselves and we can’t easily enter,” Hoberecht explained to children who stopped by the table, illustrating the handheld remote controls before moving on to a Vulcan pole which enables the Sheriff to deploy flashbangs into high locations like the second story of a building.
Alongside the table of tools, Crime Prevention specialist Amber Brassard had information on hand for any adults interested in starting a neighborhood watch program. It just takes a handful to get started, she said while handing a colorful pencil to a passing child.
San Diego Parks Manager Emily Hubbard showed off a display of taxidermied animals found locally to children given the opportunity to pet a weasel, squirrels and other local wildlife. A jar of embalming fluid held a Western Spadefoot Toad, one of the endangered species found locally at Wright’s Field.
“Most of these were found locally at Flinn Springs. We have them on display to make people aware of what’s on the trails,” Hubbard said.
Flinn Springs is among the acreage that burnt in the 2017 Jennings fire, just down the hill from Alpine proper.
Nearest the rolling bay doors, Kiwanis of Alpine members manned a table where they assembled Child ID packets for interested parents. After swabbing the inside of children’s cheeks with a long cotton swab and taking fingerprints, a photograph was taken for each child’s packet. The packets are “given to mom or dad for safe keeping at home in case something happens” and emergency information is needed, Kiwanian Corinne Lewis explained as she sealed ID packets.
Outside the fire station, Firefighter Mical Bailey showed children the difference between lower profile fire trucks designed for residential fires and taller vehicles with durable tires and 4×4 capability to access dirt roads, steeper inclines and rural backcountry terrain.
“I’m making sure all the kiddos get up in the truck and get to feel special today,” Bailey said, interrupting his explanation to greet a young boy with “hi, buddy” and a lift into the truck.
United States Forest Service Firefighter Dustin Walker said he has traveled the nation this past year for fires in Maryland, Texas, California and other locales. In many places, he said, there aren’t enough firefighters so the national agency is deployed to assist.
Locally, the Descanso district has a high number of prescribed burns issued in an effort to prevent fires. Sections are addressed over the course of two years, “There’s a lot of spotlights on fuels management right now,” Walker said.
