Coordinating with firefighting crews on the ground during wildfires is one essential component to Nevada County’s Air Attack Base. This month’s Community Forum will get an inside look at operations on the ground as well as in the air over a wildfire. CAL Fire’s Battalion Chief for Air Operations, David Krussow, Pilot Colin Rogers, Base Manager Shelby Davis and Aviation Officer Roger Caballero will be the featured guest speakers at the upcoming Community Forum, Friday, September 26. Local journalist, Lorraine Jewett, will serve as moderator of this month’s program. This free, one hour event will be held on the Sierra College Nevada County campus from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 in the auditorium, room N-12.
“We’ll discuss the types of aircraft used and their retardant capacities, plus how they coordinate with firefighters on the ground, said Jewett. “Many people don’t know the air attack team’s role is not to extinguish the fire directly, but to support ground crews by slowing the fire’s spread, creating containment lines and helping protect structures.”
Sponsored by the Sierra College Foundation’s Nevada County campus, the Community Forum hosts an hour-long, in-depth speaker series several times a year, discussing local issues and topics of interest to both our community and neighboring counties. The next Community Forum is scheduled for Friday, October 24, which will focus on the topic of the Survival of Rural Hospitals and Healthcare. Each of these speakers series is free and open to the public.