Residents May See, Smell Smoke From Regional Wildfire Training

LAMORINDA, CA — The Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District was slated to host regional wildland-fire training Friday at the Painted Rock property owned by the John Muir Land Trust and the Moraga Geologic Hazard Abatement District, above Moraga Road and Rheem Boulevard.

Wildland firefighters from 15 other agencies — Contra Costa County Fire, Alameda County Fire, Oakland Fire, Hayward Fire, the East Bay Regional Park District, San Mateo County, Cal Fire, Central Santa Cruz Fire District, Santa Clara County Fire, Watsonville Fire, Scotts Valley Fire, Ben Lomond Fire, Livermore-Pleasanton Fire, Rodeo Hercules Fire and CAL OES — were expected to participate in the training.

Firefighters met at 9 a.m. in Moraga for a briefing. Organizers planned to burn up to 150 acres of grassland during the one-day burn event that was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and conclude not later than 5 p.m.

The training was organized using the incident command system and included management staffing for fire operations, logistics, planning, public information and safety. Firefighters were expected to practice wildland fire suppression skills including firing operations, progressive hose lays, mobile attack and the use of fire suppression hand tools.

"This project is designed to provide training for firefighters and reduce the amount of flammable fuels in the area, increasing safety in our community," the Moraga-Orinda Fire District said.

Residents in Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette and parts of the Walnut Creek area were likely to see or smell smoke.

Residents near the training site were advised to close windows and doors to avoid smoke entering their homes.

The project was set up to take advantage of existing weather and fire control lines and executed according to a strict "go, no go" checklist, the fire district said.

The exercise was coordinated with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and fire weather forecasters at the National Weather Service to ensure the size and timing of the burning would minimize smoke impacts on homes and other smoke-sensitive sites in the area. If burning conditions changed, the district said it would reschedule the training.