The Bureau of Land Management announces the transfer of a wildland firefighting engine to the Milford Volunteer Fire Department to support the local response to wildfire in Lassen County.

Milford Fire Chief Ryan Erwin received the keys to the engine from BLM Fire Management Officer Grant Gifford at a small ceremony in Susanville.

BLM Eagle Lake Field Office Manager Emily Ryan said the engine transfer benefits the rural department and the BLM, which relies on support from local fire departments when battling wildfires threatening natural resources and communities. Partnerships are crucial to suppression activities.

Wildfires often cross jurisdictional boundaries and it is important that neighboring agencies have proper equipment to provide support for suppression efforts.

“With the potential for fast-moving wildfires in Lassen County, it is imperative that all fire departments, local, state and federal, support one another,” Ryan said.

“This fire engine will improve the Milford department’s response and ability to support other agencies in fire suppression. We are happy to be able to provide this vital piece of equipment.”

The fire engine was made available to the Milford volunteers under the BLM’s Rural Fire Readiness Program, which provides equipment to qualifying departments that cooperate with the BLM and assist with fire response on public lands. Under the program, the BLM accepts applications from local fire departments for available equipment and engines as they are replaced. Prior to the transfer, mechanics will inspect the trucks and make repairs (if needed), so they are fully operational and fire ready.

“We are fortunate to have numerous rural fire departments, including Milford, supporting us in fire suppression and fuels management responsibilities on public lands,” said Gifford. “The ability for us to donate this type of equipment is just one small way that we continue to foster excellent relationships with our local cooperators.”

The engine being transferred to the Milford volunteers is a 2006 crew cab unit. It is a high clearance, four-wheel-drive truck that can handle difficult off-road terrain. It can draft and pump water from sources such as lakes, ponds and streams, or pump water from its 620-gallon tank, even while moving, making it ideal for attacking fires quickly, while they are still small.

The engine was based at the BLM Ravendale Fire Station for 15 years and was dispatched to fires across the West and throughout the state of California, working closely with local, state and federal fire departments.

It was one of the first engines to respond to the Sheep Fire that threatened Susanville in the summer of 2020 and fought the Dixie Fire and Beckworth Complex in the 2021 fire season.

It responded as an initial attack engine on hundreds of lightning-caused fires across the northeast California region during its years in federal service.

Lassen High Rotary Interact club held their Bingo fundraiser on May 25th, raising money for the club’s service projects.

During the evening Interact advisor Zeane’ Barber presented seniors with a sash to be worn during graduation to represent their service/membership in Interact.

“Thank you to those that provided prizes and those that participated in making it a success,” said Barber.

“It is critical that all Californians take preparedness steps now, but with Red Flag Warnings already being issued this year, residents need to ensure they use the right tool at the right time to avoid accidently sparking a wildfire when working around the house.”

Defensible Space is the buffer created between a building and the grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation. This space is needed to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and it helps protect a home from catching fire. Proper Defensible Space can also provide firefighters a safe area to defend a home from wildfire. Home Hardening is the effort to retrofit a home by altering or replacing specific construction components with ember and fire ignition building materials.

“This year Cal-FIRE is recommending residents especially focus their efforts within the first five feet,” Chief Berlant said. Known as the “Ember-Resistant Zone,” this area extends five feet from buildings, structures, and decks.

Science has shown it to be the most important of all the defensible space zones. The “Ember-Resistant Zone” is designed to keep fire or embers from igniting plants, bark, mulch, and combustible materials that can spread the fire to the home.

The local chapter of the Association of California School Administrators held its annual

luncheon recognizing the Students of the Year from school sites throughout Lassen County.

Students and their families were provided with a catered lunch, followed by a recognition ceremony highlighting each of their accomplishments.

Two forty-ton units, Ellis model mill, are being erected at the McDow property on Diamond Mountain. The plant was trucked here over the weekend from San Francisco.

A. C. Ackerman, mining mill contractor, and a crew of eight men are supervising erection of the mill, and he will stay at the plant for a number of months for any necessary adjustments.

A. G. Lantz of San Jose, who is financing the installation, was here over the weekend to see about trucking of the equipment. The mill will serve as a custom plant for the Diamond Mountain district.

Lantz has taken a lease-option of the Lee Musgrove property and plans to begin working it on a big scale.

Sleeping quarters and a cook house and dining hall have been under construction for the past month to care for the crew Lantz plans to employ.

The Placer-Sierra Co-operative Power Company lineman crew is extending major power lines to the plant. It is hoped to have the mill ready to start by July 1. As the demand requires more capacity units will be added to the mill.