ABOUT US

South Lake County Volunteer Firefighters Association

SLCFPD is an independent special district with an elected Board of Directors, which was formed in 1925 as the Middletown Fire Protection District. The Lake County Board of Supervisors appointed the Board of Directors until 1988, when it was changed to an elected board. The District was renamed as the South Lake County Fire Protection District on March 18, 1987.

The South Lake County Volunteer Firefighters Association consists of 35 volunteers. The District was staffed exclusively with volunteers until the first paid member was employed in 1978. The Fire Sirens is a District Auxiliary organization which was established in April of 1985, and supports programs for the District's operations. The Fire Sirens have provided significant support the District by raising funds to purchase equipment for the fire department. They also support personnel during training and emergency incidents by providing food and beverages

With the continuing loss of the Geothermal tax revenue, fiscal constraints caused the reduction in staffing and services within the District. This caused the District to only staff 1 station in Middletown, with 1 response person on duty in the late 1990's.

In order to provide stability, the SLCFPD voted to enter into a contract to provide personnel, and management services form the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on June 15, 2000. This took effect July 1, 2000. The District currently staffs Cobb, Middletown, and Hidden Valley with 2 response personnel at each location. Ongoing fiscal constraints and obstacles continue to be a challenge to meet the growing need for service with the District. Even with a parcel tax, and mitigation fees, the future still holds certain challenges that are continually evaluated and overcome.

Geographic Profile

SLCFPD area includes the communities of Middletown, Anderson Springs, Cobb, Loch Lomond, and Hidden Valley, as well as numerous small developments and individual dwellings. The District also serves a portion of the geothermal geysers industry facilities on the western boundary of the District.

SLCFPD has experienced numerous major fires, documenting the risk of fire within the District. Most of the Community of Middletown was destroyed by a fire in 1918. In 1934 the Anderson Ridge Fire worked its way up Cobb Mtn. There were two major fires in 1964, the Hanley Fire burned 52,000 acres, it started south of Middletown on Mt. St. Helena and burned all the way to Santa Rosa (Fountain Grove / Mark West Springs area) destroying 100 homes and out buildings, the Dump Fire burned 15,000 acres, it started where the Lyons Club Trap Shoot is and burned to Calistoga. In 1961 the Widow Creek Fire consumed 10,000 acres destroying homes and vehicles.

In 1985, the Hidden Valley Lake Fire consumed 1,200 acres, 9 homes damaged, 16 homes an 4 vehicles destroyed. The Hidden Fire in 2000 consumed 4,000 acres, 1 condemned structure, and 3 out buildings. In 2003 the Morgan Valley Fire burned 4200 acres in Jerico and Jerusalem Valley. The summer of 2015 was the most devastating fire season in the history of SLCFPD. Three major fire’s the “Rocky” the “Jerusalem” and the devastating “Valley” fire tore through our community’s resulting in 4 civilian fatalities with 5 people still missing and 4 Cal-Fire firefighters were seriously burned. A total of 1366 homes, 66 Commercial Structures and an additional 659 other structures were destroyed. The three fires burned a total of 175,000 (One Hundred Seventy Five Thousand) acres.

The contributing factors to possible major fire disasters (fuel density, topography and weather) continue to exist. With continuous development and increased population within SLCFPD, the potential for major occurrences will significantly increase unless adequate fire prevention and control programs are maintained and improved.

There is potential for major industrial fire losses at the Geothermal Power Plants. Additionally, emergency medical incidents and vehicle accidents present a major potential for multiple injuries on the road ways within SLCFPD. In 1980, a tractor trailer hauling waste materials collided with two vans and one passenger vehicle resulting in 8 fatalities and ten injuries. During the summer months of 2000, there were 14+ fatalities and numerous injuries on the District road ways.

History

SLCF serves as area of over 268 square miles in the southern portion of Lake County. Napa County bounds the District on the south, Sonoma County on the west, the Kelseyville Fire Protection District on the north, and the Lake County Fire Protection District on the north/east.

n 1949, SLCF annexed the areas of the geothermal geyser industry. In October of 1989, the District annexed 6,500 acres in the Loch Lomond area. At this time, mutual aid agreements have also been developed with CDF/Napa County for fire and EMS services on Highway 29 between the Napa County line and Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial State Park as well as the area of the Lake/Napa County line in Butts Canyon.

The Valley Fire was California’s third most destructive fire in our history killing at least 4 civilians and seriously injuring 4 Cal-Fire firefighters assigned to Copter 104 based out of Boggs State Forest. The Valley Fire started on High Valley Road off Bottle Rock Road at 1:35 PM on Saturday September 12th 2015. To get an understanding of how fast this fire moved we have provided a timeline of the fires progress during the first few hours. At 2:09 PM Mandatory Evacuation of Cobb and Loch Lomond ordered, At 2:45 mandatory evacuation of Middletown ordered. By 3:00 the fire had already burned through the Pine Summit neighborhood of Cobb destroyed Hoberg’s Resort and was racing through Boggs State Forest heading toward Middletown, Anderson Springs and Harbin Hot Springs. At 4:00 PM LNU Unit Chief Scott Upton orders a type one incident management team and by 6:07 PM the fire has reached Hidden Valley Lakes and is estimated at 10,000 acres, by 10:30 PM fire has grown to 25,000 acres. In three and a half hours the Valley fire had become the third most devastating fires in California history. During the summer of 2015 from July to September three major fire’s the “Rocky” the “Jerusalem” and the devastating “Valley” Fire tore through Lake County. A total of 1366 homes, 66 Commercial Structures and an additional 659 other structures were destroyed. The three fires blackened a total of 175,000 (One Hundred Seventy Five Thousand) acres. With the upcoming strong El Nino winter approaching, residents of South Lake County must be prepared for the potential of flooding, debris flows and landslides. Please subscribe to Nixle for immediate emergency notification via cell phone and/or E mail Nixle Website