The UC Davis Fire Department’s annual wildfire training at Russell Ranch was put to use just two days after it concluded.
The department, along with others in the region, responded to the Quail Fire 15 miles from the training area on June 6. The fire, located east of Vacaville and west of Winters, burned 1,837 acres before full containment on June 10.
“The annual training is really important for practicing things like shelter deployment, progressive hose lay and using gear and apparatus specific for wildland fires before fire season begins and we’re deployed throughout the state,” Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht said.
Read more about the training on the website for the Arboretum and Public Gardens.
— Sienna Mata
Instagram: Student firefighter recruits staying safe
Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht: We welcomed a new group of Student Firefighters to the campus fire station today for their pre-academy orientation. We’re taking strict precautions due to COVID-19 during the 6 week academy, and beyond, to maintain a healthy work force. These recruits start writing their story next Monday. Let’s see what great things they will do!!!
Bubbles in the Arboretum
The Arboretum and Public Garden is adding two air-powered circulators to the Arboretum Waterway, one at Lake Spafford and one near the old boathouse. The reason for the circulators is to improve circulation and oxygenation of the water, which will help keep surface algae at bay and improve water quality. We also expect that, like last year, we will find cyanobacteria in the water at some point this summer or fall. We are monitoring for this following the guidance of the California State Water Quality Control Board. We hope that circulators will also help decrease this natural phenomenon.
Read more on the Arboretum and Public Gardens website.
— Nina Suzuki
Instagram: Safe sketching on campus
Alejandro Bibriesca: This past Saturday I went to a social distancing sketchcrawl at the Arboretum in Davis, CA. I did little thumbnails and some quick sketches of some ducks. We all sketched separately, but at the end we got together to show what we had done that day.