Canyon Lake's Fire Crisis Still Looms

Canyon Lake officials say they have a plan in the works to provide fire protection services for their city but details about the strategy are not ready to be announced.

“We do have a very viable solution,” Canyon Lake Mayor Mary Craton explained during a special public meeting Wednesday at City Hall, but she said the city is not at liberty to disclose the plan because details are still being hammered out with the cities of Lake Elsinore and Menifee, as well as the county.

However, Craton did make one promise Wednesday about her city’s lone fire station: “It’s not going to close in two weeks,” she said.

Still, she expressed displeasure with her city’s dilemma.

“I’m really ticked off. I just call us a welfare city,” she said.

Craton’s irritation follows the failure on Election Day of Measure D, which asked Canyon Lake voters if they were willing to pay a special annual tax of $204 to fund the continuation of their one and only fire station and the services it provides. According to the certified results of the Nov. 5 election, 1,277 or 50.45 percent of registered voters in Canyon Lake who turned out for the election cast a "yes" ballot for Measure D, while 1,254 or 49.55 percent voted "no." In order to pass, however, the initiative required a two-thirds majority.

With the failed passage, Canyon Lake finds itself in the position of possibly closing Station 60. The city has warned it would likely shutter the facility in early December, but a Nov. 18 letter to Canyon Lake Acting City Manager Deborah Harrington from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department Chief John Hawkins warns the station must remain open until Aug. 7, 2014 otherwise the city would be in breach of contract with the department.

Canyon Lake City Attorney Betsy Martyn rejected the legal challenge during Wednesday’s meeting.

In the meantime, until that 2014 date, the fire department is willing to discuss “possible options to continue fire protection and prevention services …,” the chief’s letter read.

Hawkins was present Wednesday and he expressed hope that an amicable solution can be worked out, but how that will happen is still on the table. Shuttering the station is not in the best interest of residents or surrounding neighbors, who can expect increased response times if a closure happens. Currently, Station 60 has eight people assigned to it – all of them would be relocated to other stations if closure occurs, the chief explained.

Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he will “go to bat” for Canyon Lake, but finding money to keep Station 60 open would be a difficult proposition for him. The county currently finds itself with a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall, and putting more money toward Canyon Lake’s fire protection would set a precedent for other struggling cities in the county, he said.

In the meantime, Lake Elsinore city council members have voiced their concerns about the situation, saying they don’t want their city’s taxpayers footing Canyon Lake’s fire protection services bill.

Lake Elsinore Councilman Brian Tisdale was present at Wednesday’s meeting and said fire protection is a “priority” in his city and he cannot ask his constituents to help fund Canyon Lake.

According to Cal Fire Division Chief Todd Williams, during 2012 Station 60 received 644 calls for service inside Canyon Lake. During that same year, Lake Elsinore’s Station 94 received 327 calls into Canyon Lake and Menifee’s Station 5 received 98 calls into Canyon Lake, Williams said.

Likewise, Station 60 responds to calls outside of Canyon Lake’s gates. If the facility does close, fire protection for Canyon Lake would be provided by neighboring cities with some sort of cost sharing plan likely. On Dec. 12, Lake Elsinore City Council members discussed a proposal to charge Canyon Lake a minimum of $1,000 per call for fire services rendered out of Lake Elsinore. Lake Elsinore City Manager Grant Yates cautioned that the $1,000 would pay for a two-hour minimum trip charge and would include the dispatch of just one Lake Elsinore engine. Calls that require more equipment, crews, supplies, time commitment, etc., would cost more, Yates warned.

That proposal was not addressed in-depth during Wednesday’s meeting.

Several local residents spoke at Wednesday’s meeting. Canyon Lake resident Pam Lach said the city should have done a better job campaigning for Measure D. She said residents were not told about the lack of fire protection they would receive if the Measure failed.

Canyon Lake City Councilwoman Nancy Horton rejected the criticism.

“We gave it our best shot and some people chose not to understand it,” she said.

Horton’s colleague, Councilman Tim Brown fired back. As the only member on the dais who did not support Measure D, he maintains a solution to the fire situation is possible.

“Council needs to move forward in a positive direction,” he said.

Brown explained that he voted against Measure D because he felt it was not “fiscally responsible,” and he believes the county needs to come up with a way out that does not cost his city more money.

Residents will have to wait and see how Canyon Lake might resolve its conundrum. According to Harrington, it is highly likely the issue will be on the Dec. 4 Canyon Lake City Council meeting agenda.