Redlands Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Dustin Whitaker said that last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires, as well as the close-to-home Line Fire in 2024, are never far from mind as authorities begin to ramp up their fire mitigation efforts as the hot season continues.
“After those events, reports are put out, a better understanding is gathered, and the fire service as a whole always does its best to improve … and try to reduce those tragedies in the future,” said Whitaker by phone on April 15.
Though the Los Angeles-area fires had no direct impact on planning the city’s yearly wildfire reduction efforts, Whitaker said, the department is attempting to be more forward-facing by reestablishing old partnerships and involving community stakeholders.
At the center of these expanding efforts is the department’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, a template action plan created by Cal Fire to address wildfire-prone areas. Fire departments use the plan to tailor it to their own communities. Mitigation efforts are part of the fire department’s yearly budget, Whitaker said, which has hovered around the $1.1 million range for the last two years.
New initiatives this year include the use of surveillance technology and education and guidance from the nonprofit Redlands Conservancy, which focuses on the city’s agricultural and natural environments. Other reduction measures also involve more vegetation mitigation — the removal or trimming of plants that could serve as ignition sources or fuel.
The Redlands Fire Department has a lot of ground to cover. In 2025, the department treated 63 acres of land. This year, it’s jumped up to 80 acres.
“The acreage fluctuates year to year because some of the more expansive clearance projects can have a 2-3 year effective timeline based on rainfall and regrowth,” Whitaker said.
“Folks may take it for granted; They just assume things are happening and fires magically go out, but they don’t without the hard work of our community risk reduction team or administrative staff being proactive and keeping these fires small,” Whitaker said.
A large part of this year’s new fuel-reduction projects involves vegetation management in partnership with Cal Fire’s Conservation Camps Program, said Redlands Fire Marshal Vincent Anderson by phone on April 10. The initiative brings men and women going through the corrections process to assist regular firefighting forces.
Anderson said the conservation camps program has been a key partner in fire mitigation measures — a resource last used by the city in 2019. Partnering with the Conservation Camps Program was a way to cover more ground in vegetation management, he said.
“This year, through our network contacts, we were able to re-establish that agreement, and they have been instrumental in helping us,” Anderson said, utilizing the help along Pilgrim, San Timoteo and Boyscout Roads.
The spring fire reduction initiative has also enabled the gathering of the tools necessary for vegetation mitigation.
“We’re able to get shovels and axes, saws and weed eaters out there, actually cutting down that brush. It’s been a great way to expand our current fire mitigation programs,” said Whitaker.
Other mitigation efforts include employing technology to monitor fire‑prone areas. In November 2024, a camera was installed in the Helen Court area to observe the Live Oak area. A second camera is scheduled for installation at the Redlands Airport later this year to monitor the Santa Ana Wash.
The fire department is also using mapping tools from the geographic information system software company, Esri. Anderson said the tools help map high‑risk areas and track progress in fuel reduction.
The Redlands Conservancy’s role in fire education has also expanded this year, Anderson said.
With the Conservancy’s help, they have identified 18 trailheads across the city and plan to post wildlife-area awareness signs.
“They know where some of the unofficial areas that you know hikers and people accessing the open areas might be,” Anderson said, adding that the informational signs will be ready for installation in two weeks.
The work of fire services is a dual-pronged approach, Whitaker. Responding to wildfires is one, but prevention is equally vital, he said. And the latter is a process that is constantly evolving.
While fire mitigation efforts are ongoing, Whitaker said the department is always trying to build on and improve them.
“We’re always trying to find more effective, efficient and innovative ways to protect our community,” Whitaker said.
©2026 the Redlands Daily Facts, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
