Cathy Perfect
Kern Valley Sun

Approximately 20 Kern County Firefighters took part in a large scale fire training exercise at Nugget Dr. and Golden Spur St., in Lake Isabella on Saturday.

Organizers of the event developed a working scenario that simulated a large fire at a furniture store in the Kern Valley area. Fire crews from Station 71 in Southlake Lake, 76 in Kernville and 72 in Lake Isabella made an initial attack on the fire and set up a water supply to support fire operations. As the simulated fire grew in intensity, more resources were required. To provide additional assistance to the area, Helicopter 408 was utilized to fly additional firefighters from the metro area of Bakersfield to the valley.

Kern County Fire Department Engineer Shane Reed, assigned to Helicopter 408, secures the helicopter’s rotors during Saturday’s fire safety drill in Lake Isabella.

“The purpose of today’s exercise was to show how we can bring resources from Bakersfield to support operations in the Kern River Valley,” said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Marshall. “Our flight time from Bakersfield is 19 minutes. We can fly nine firefighters with all their equipment, drop them off, then turn around and do it again.” Helicopter 408 can carry personnel and equipment totaling 1,960 pounds, he added. “We should be able to do this anywhere in the county.”

Marshall cited a fire in Glennville earlier this year when the first ground fire unit was 15 minutes out and Helicopter 408 was dispatched and quickly responded, bringing additional personnel and equipment to battle the blaze.

“Any incident in the Kern River Valley may be impacted by such events as an earthquake, which may limit resources available on scene due to travel restrictions through the Canyon or over Walker Pass,” said Kern County Fire Department Public Information Officer Sean Collins.

After the drill, the firefighters held a debriefing. Chief Steve Pendergast expressed the group’s general concensus about the operation, saying, “It went great.” The KCFD Fire Safety Education Trailer was available for youngsters to explore, as well.