New engine ready to protect Marysville
Marysville residents soon may notice a new, even-shinier fire engine making its way through town. In July, the Marysville Fire Department had its new 2019 Pierce Enforcer fire engine delivered to the station and it has gone out on a couple calls as personnel have been training on the new engine, according to fire engineer/inspector Andrew Hall.
He said Engine 212, which had been the go-to engine for calls in the city for about the last 10 years, was “tired.” MFD responds to over 3,000 calls a year, which comes out to anywhere from 1-20 calls in a 24-hour period.
“This is the main one, this is the first one coming out of the station when we get a 911 dispatch,” Hall said of the brand new Engine 211.
Hall said the Pierce brand of fire engine is the top of the line when it comes to quality and the detail work that goes into an engine. The new engine has a 700 gallon internal tank, which can pump 2,000 gallons per minute along with a hydraulic auxiliary pump. The auxiliary pump allows water to be pumped out while the engine is in motion.
Other features include independent front suspension that makes for a smoother ride and puts less stress on the engine as it drives over surface streets in the city. On most day-to-day operations the engine will be staffed by a fire apparatus engineer who drives the engine, a captain who sits next to the driver and a firefighter in the back. Hall said it can carry one to three firefighters
Flag Warning due to the weather conditions, particularly the combination of strong winds and low relative humidity, which can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
National Weather
Service forecaster Cory Mueller said wind gusts were expected to reach up to 35 miles per hour in the Yuba-sutter area on Tuesday, and while it was expected to die down overnight, there would still be some lingering gusty winds today that could reach up to 20 miles per hour. Temperatures are expected to remain in the lower 90s for the rest of the week, with overnight lows in the 50s to lower 60s.
“We want to make sure residents are practicing wildfire safety, which is something that should be done every day, but especially over the next few days,” Mueller said on Tuesday. “We are encouraging people to avoid any burning for the time being, to avoid driving on dry grasses or cutting lawns, anything that could cause a spark.”
Bullards Bar Reservoir closed its campsites for the next several days over fire safety concerns, and the Tahoe National Forest is temporarily closed to camping for the same reason. Nearby counties have also had to evacuate certain areas due to wildfires – the town of La Porte and the Little Grass Valley Reservoir were put under evacuation orders on Tuesday.
On top of that, about 2,400 Yuba County foothill residents have been without power since Monday night due to a Pacific Gas and Electric Company power shutoff, which cut electricity to approximately 172,000 customers in 22 counties due to forecasts of dry, hot weather with strong winds that posed significant fire risk.
PGE spokesperson Paul Moreno said crews will begin inspecting power lines today with the hopes of restoring power to all customers by 9 p.m., weather permitting. He said crews will patrol the lines after the severe weather has passed and restore power as they progress, so it will be carried out in stages throughout the day.
“We’ve been making improvements to our
PSPS (public safety power shutoff) program so that
events are shorter, smaller and smarter,” Moreno said. “We’ve installed switching devices in the field to help us better isolate and reduce the footprint of a PSPS event, and we have more resources on hand to patrol power lines for any damage before we restore power. Customers and local agencies also have access to more precise info on timing, impacted areas, etc.”
Two resources centers were established in the foothills to assist residents impacted by the shutoffs – at the Alcouffe Center (9185, Marysville Road, Oregon House) and the Foothill Volunteer Fire Department (16796 Willow Glen Road, Brownsville). Both community resource
centers will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. while power is out.
Due to the various wildfires across the state, the Yuba-sutter area’s air quality was in the category of unhealthy on Tuesday, according to the California Air Resources Board. Since the wildfires first began this season – around the Aug. 17 timeframe when the region experienced lightning storms – the area’s air quality has fluctuated from unhealthy to hazardous on various occasions.
“The main danger right now is more fires, considering the wind conditions, so we’re concerned like anyone that