Canyon Lake's Fire Woes Impacting Lake Elsinore

It’s not clear what Canyon Lake will do now that Measure D has gone down in defeat, but Lake Elsinore has decided not to wait around and see.

During Tuesday night’s Lake Elsinore City Council meeting, a discussion about Canyon Lake’s fire services took place. The conversation was necessitated following failure of Canyon Lake’s Measure D on Nov. 5. The Measure asked Canyon Lake voters if they were willing to pay a special tax to fund the continuation of their only fire station, Station 60, and the fire protection services it provides.

Without the special tax, Canyon Lake has warned it may have to shutter Station 60 in early December due to financial concerns in the city. That has irked Lake Elsinore officials, who insist their residents should not pay for Canyon Lake’s fire protection nor should Lake Elsinore citizens endure longer response times due to a neighbor’s lack of services.

“Nobody receives free services on the backs of Lake Elsinore taxpayers,” said Lake Elsinore City Councilman Brian Tisdale.

Currently, the cities of Lake Elsinore and Menifee, as well as county officials, are in discussion about an agreement that would see Canyon Lake pay for fire services on a per-call basis. Lake Elsinore and Menifee would likely be the two cities doling out most of the fire protection for Canyon Lake.

According to Tisdale, Canyon Lake has not been in communication with Lake Elsinore over the issue, despite repeated attempts to bring that city into the discussion.

Under a yet-to-be hammered out agreement, Lake Elsinore is proposing 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.

Under a current cooperative service area agreement with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, Lake Elsinore does provide some fire protection service to Canyon Lake and that city is supposed to reciprocate. If Lake Elsinore’s latest proposal is accepted, the City of Canyon Lake would be on the hook for all Lake Elsinore equipment, crews, supplies, etc., dispatched into its city.

The City of Menifee has also provides fire protection to Canyon Lake. According to Yates, Menifee is looking at an “assistance by hire” agreement for Canyon Lake that essentially mirrors Lake Elsinore’s proposal.

In the long term, if the proposals are accepted, the tab for Canyon Lake’s fire protection could potentially exceed what that city is currently paying. According to Canyon Lake’s Annual Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, fire services were budgeted at just over $1.1 million.

According to Cal Fire Division Chief Todd Williams who spoke at Tuesday night’s council meeting, Canyon Lake received 644 calls for fire service in 2012.

Williams explained that if Station 60 does in fact close, Lake Elsinore’s Station 97 would likely pick up the slack on the northwest side of Canyon Lake but he warned that, as a result, response times would potentially quadruple for Canyon Lake residents. (“Response time” is the amount of time it takes between when a call for service is received and when fire crews arrive on scene.)

Lake Elsinore council members sounded the alarm.

“I am concerned for lives,” said Councilman Steve Manos.

“I’m distraught for the residents of Canyon Lake,” echoed Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Johnson.

Mayor Bob Magee also expressed concern but said his city has four fire stations, which his residents pay for.

“Our residents stepped up and paid for this,” Magee said.

If more of Lake Elsinore’s fire resources are allocated to Canyon Lake, it’s not clear how response times in Magee’s city will be impacted, but he said currently calls are attended to in four minutes or less.

Tisdale said he is awaiting information from fire officials that will provide a better picture of just how great the impact will be on Lake Elsinore.

A request for comment about Canyon Lake’s fire protection was not immediately returned by that city. Canyon Lake City Councilman Jordan Ehrenkranz was in the audience during Tuesday night’s Lake Elsinore City Council meeting but he did not speak at the podium.