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Sept 22, 2009
20
(FIRM) classifies the floodplain as “Zone A: Areas of 100-year flood, base flood elevations and flood hazard factors are not determined.” Until base elevation and building pad elevation requirements are established it is impossible to determine if construction potential is completely eliminated due to safety and cost considerations, or if the risks and costs are manageable (1988 Housing Element, 1988 General Plan). Street maintenance and snow removal are done through an annual contract between the City and the County.
3.6 Loyalton Fire Protection Services The City of Loyalton (and immediate
adjacent lands) and the Sierra Brooks
subdivision are provided fire protection
services from the Loyalton Fire
Department. Sierra Valley and The City
of Loyalton are designated as Local
Responsibility Areas (LRA). In LRA’s,
wild land fire protection is the
responsibility of the local entity. The City
of Loyalton and the east end of Sierra
Valley are within the Loyalton Fire
Department service area boundary.
The Loyalton Fire Department consists
of a Fire Chief, an Assistant Chief, four
Captains, five Engineers, and 18 total
volunteers, all of which are active (the
City is authorized to have 27 volunteers
total). The average age of the Fire
Department volunteers is approximately
40 years old.
The Loyalton Fire Department has two
Emergency Medical Service (EMS)
personnel and one Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT) position. All medical
calls are handled by the Eastern Plumas
District Hospital Loyalton Campus. The
Loyalton Fire Department assists the
Eastern Plumas District Hospital with
automobile accidents.
Training for Fire Department personnel
includes the North Tree Fire Training
Program providing Hazmat and
structural fire protection programs. The
Sierra Plumas Training Association and
the USDA Forest Service provide
additional training for the Loyalton Fire
Department.
The Fire Department operates Fire
Stations #1 and #2 at 210 Front Street
in Loyalton. One structure has four
heated bays and the other has two
heated bays. The other station (#3) has
three heated bays and is located at the
junction of Longhorn Drive and Roundup
Drive with the Lodge in Sierra Brooks.22
This Sierra Brooks Station operates
through a contract with the County, and
is called “Service Area 5a.” All stations
are unmanned unless a call for service
is received.23
22 Sierra County Fire Safe Council and Community Fire
Safe Plan, 2002.
23 Fire Chief Joe Marin, March 2005
Loyalton Sphere of Influence
Sept 22, 2009
21
3.6.1 Loyalton Fire Department Equipment
The City of Loyalton Fire Department Equipment is listed in the following Table:
City of Loyalton Fire Department Equipment
STA. # - Equipment Type - Make - Year - Capacity (gallons) - Pump (gpm) - 4X4
#1 Engine I FMC 1987 1,000 1,250 No
#1 Engine I Ford/AmericanLaFrance 1977 800 1,250 No
#1 Engine I Ford/Weststates 1988 800 1,000 No
#2 Rescue Vehicle Ford 1995 No
#2 Command Vehicle Dodge Dakota 2000 No
#3 Engine I International 1968 1,000 1,000 No
#3 Engine II American LaFrance 1960 500 750 No
#3 Brush Engine IV Ford/slip-on 1978 200 50-60 Yes
Source: Sierra County Fire Safe Plan, September 2002.
Overall, department equipment can be described as adequate to meet the fire
protection needs of Loyalton, adjacent lands and the Sierra Brooks subdivision.
3.6.2 Loyalton Fire Protection
Funding
The Loyalton Fire Department is funded
by the following three sources:24
1) City General Fund (utilities and
insurance paid from separate
funds)—$50,000.
2) Contract with Sierra County for
Sierra Brooks—$20,000.
3) Contract with Sierra County for
the Senior Center—$5,000.
24 Sierra County Fire Safe Council and Community Fire
Safe Plan, 2002.
The City of Loyalton has not established
any type of fire tax or assessments.
Target levels of service would be to
achieve an ISO rating of 4 within the
City and 7 for the outlying areas and a
response time of 3 to 5 minutes in the
Community Core Area and 10 to 15
minutes in outlying areas within the
Service Area.25
The Fire Department maintains an ISO
rating of 6 with the average response
25 Sierra County Fire Safe Council and Community Fire
Safe Plan, 2002
Sphere of Influence
Sept 22, 2009
22
time for fire and EMS service at 3 to 4
minutes, including calls to remote parts
of the service area. Problems to access
include snow in the winter and access to
fire hydrants (year-round). Overall,
access in the Fire Department’s service
area can be considered good (Fire Chief
Joe Marin, March 2005).
Future needs of the Loyalton Fire
Department were discussed in the
Environmental Impact Report prepared
for the 2012 Sierra County General Plan
(adopted in 1996). In this document it is
indicated the Sierra Brooks station
would need to be enlarged in the future
and fire station equipment would need
to be replaced during the time frame of
the Sierra County General Plan.
Based on the above information, funding
for the Fire Department and revenue for
capital improvements are scarce.
Development of a Fire Tax would be a
prudent policy to aid in increasing Fire
Department revenue to fund necessary
capital improvements to lower the City’s
ISO rating to desired levels, since at
present there is no Fire Tax.
The law does not permit impact fees to
pay for the cost of upgrading or
remedying current deficiencies. If the
Department is currently not meeting
adopted federal/state standards or if the
some part of their facility has
deficiencies that impair operations, the
cost of remedying those deficiencies
must be paid for by the current
population served (i.e., a Fire Tax).
3.6.3 Loyalton Fire Protection
Service Calls
Recent activity by the Fire Department
includes a variety of different service
calls listed by the four main types as
follows:
1) Structural Fires:
4 structural
6 chimneys
2 dumpster
3 propane leaks
2) Wildland Fires:
5 lightning
5 mutual aid
5 brush
3 OES
3 smoke checks
3) Vehicle Fires:
2 vehicle fires
1 Hazmat
4) Medical Aids:
3 vehicle accidents
1 search and rescue
The number of service calls has
increased in the last few years,
averaging approximately 40 calls for
service per year for all types of
emergencies (medical included
Sierra LAFCO
Draft City of Loyalton Sphere of Influence
Sept 22, 2009
23
3.7 Loyalton Law Enforcement
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Department
provides police protection services to
the entire County including the
incorporated City of Loyalton. The
Department is staffed by ten full time
sworn personnel and four full-time and
part-time dispatchers/jailers that allows
for 24-hour coverage of the jail and
dispatch center in Downieville.
Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department
has five reserve deputy sheriffs that
provide staffing assistance for an active
boating program from April to October
as well as providing year-round
assistance when needed. The reserves
live in Goodyears Bar, Downieville,
Sierra City, Alleghany and Loyalton
(Sierra County General Plan 2012).
During the day, the Sheriff’s Department
on duty staffing consists of one patrol
person on each side of the County.
Each is responsible for calls for service
on their respective sides of Yuba Pass.
Depending on the nature of the call,
additional personnel might be called out
on overtime, whether the call is one that
requires additional personnel, or a more
timely response.
During the evening hours, staffing
remains the same. On Friday and
Saturday evenings, every effort is made
to have two deputies on duty for each
side of the County.26
The Sheriff’s Department operates both
two and four-wheel drive vehicles,
assigned by geographic need. Four
vehicles remain at the courthouse
26Sierra County General Plan 2012
complex during periods of nonoperation.
These include two sedans
and two four-wheel drive utility vehicles.
All are equipped for prisoner
transportation, and the four-wheel drive
vehicles are also equipped for trailer
towing.
The sergeant and deputies in Sierraville,
Alleghany, Loyalton, Sierra City, and
Verdi have 24-hour access to their
vehicles. The California Highway Patrol
(CHP) serves Sierra County with one
day-shift patrol officer out of the Grass
Valley Substation and provides on-call
service outside the normal day shift
patrol times (Sierra County General
Plan 2012).
Staffing levels appear to be adequate to
meet County-wide demands.
Continuation of existing levels of service
of approximately one sworn
personnel/350 residents and at least
one officer on duty on either side of the
County at all times is recommended.