“St. Helena….Mt. Konocti.…Smoke report!”
Such is the radio call from the Konocti lookout tower to the Cal Fire dispatcher in St. Helena, which sets in motion immediate action by firefighting units to respond to the possibility of a disaster.
Because of the devastating local fires in 2015, the 45-foot lookout tower high atop Mt. Konocti reopened last June, staffed entirely by volunteers. The facility had been inactive for 12 years.
With patches of dry grass already beginning to show, activity is set to begin again on June 1 and additional volunteers are being sought for this year’s fire season. The Mt. Konocti chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association is coordinating the volunteer drive for both five- and eight-hour shifts in the tower.
Individuals serve at least once a month, more often if they choose. In 2016 Jack Hewitt operated 22 eight-hour shifts, the most of any volunteer.
A training session for new volunteers and an optional refresher for last year’s is to be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 3 and 4, at the Kelseyville fire house. The first day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a lunch break. Sunday will be training in the fire house for two hours.
The fire season generally lasts until the first heavy fall rains.
