June brings us half way through the calendar year with the beginning of summer being quite mild. We should not be lulled into a sense of false security as the fuels are burning and the conditions continue to become hotter and dryer for the next few months.

If you haven't done it, your target safety annual stand down was due for all CAL FIRE employees. Please make this a top priority for immediate completion, as expected. It is important that we all value this process, not because it is just another item to be checked off, but because of what brought about these safety requirements.

Almost without a doubt, as we read each of the ten standard Firefighting orders and the eighteen situations that shout \u201cwatch out\u201d, they came with a Firefighter like you and I losing their life.

We have to commit ourselves to always respecting this kind of ultimate wisdom and never take things for granted.

It is that time of year for swimming and water use with the increased temperatures. This is a good time to review some basic water rescue techniques through the various scenarios you might face in your primary response area. Nothing beats preparation, if it is predictable, it is preventable. Know your areas and associated risks. Actively pursue developing your preparation through all available opportunity. Go out into your community and practice providing report on condition and size up activities.

Make sure to share your knowledge and give back to those who will follow. Our legacies as a top professional organization demand it. We are all part of the CAL FIRE blood and sweat, those that have come and gone and those that have yet to answer the call, we all have to value the honor to serve.

Have a safe month and continue to do your part to make things a little better today than yesterday.

LARRY CRAIG
GLORIA WHITE
PATRICA WILSON
DENISE KESSEL
LESLIE LONG
SHANNON KING
ALI ELLIOTT
TANYA YENAWINE
IRENE VASALLOS

PROUDLY SERVING CAL FIRE, SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY, PALA, RINCON,
PAUMA, SAN PASCUAL, CAMPO, SYCUAN RESERVATION FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND THE
DELUZ, PALOMAR MOUNTAIN, SUNSHINE SUMMIT, CAMPO, BOULEVARD,
INTERMOUNTAIN ,WARNER SPRINGS VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS

increase. Several fires moved into extended attack during June, requiring the ECC to use the CalEMA Mutual Aid system to help each other. Although the Pala fire did some damage to structures, as a whole, fire personnel were very successful in San Diego on all the wildland fires in the county. As we prepare for the summer season, we have remodeled our ECC

Expanded offices with new furniture donated to the USFS. I would like to thank Chiefs Hayes, Biltz, Anderson and their staff, along with Tony Chacon and Bill O\u2019Connor for the hard work in getting the swap done in a very short time frame. Now we can only hope it is not used for a while.

On June 1st 2009, CAL FIRE transitioned to peak staffing levels, this transition brought an increase in media coverage. In June the Pala Fire burned more than 100 acres near the Pala Indian Reservation on Highway 76. As expected attention from the media and elected officials was extremely high. News agencies from as far away as Washington DC and San Francisco received interviews.