Fire departments in Mendocino and Humboldt counties will use the money for new Type 6 engines, prevention efforts and new equipment.
By Justine Frederiksen
Source The Ukiah Daily Journal, Calif.
Aug. 9—The Leggett Valley Volunteer Fire Department in northern Mendocino County has six firefighters to cover 250 square miles of some of the most rugged and remote territory in the state of California.
“It takes heroic dedication (for these volunteer firefighters) to respond to all types of hazards,” Leggett Fire Chief Eli Reighter said Wednesday, explaining that his crews respond to ocean rescues on the coast as well as crashes along a 30-mile, very well-traveled stretch of Highway 101 that serves as the gateway to the land of redwoods and marijuana.
With a jurisdiction that also spans countless windy and rutted routes of the non-paved variety “from Spy Rock Road to the Humboldt County line,” Reighter said having “safe, modern and multi-function apparatus is key,” and he thanked State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) for “listening to our needs and following through on his promise.”
That promise, McGuire said, has culminated in a large investment of state money into about a dozen rural fire departments in northern Mendocino County and southern Humboldt County, funds intended to help “keep tens of thousands of residents in some of the most wildfire-prone areas in the state more safe from wildfires.”
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