SAN DIEGO --
Firefighters have finally contained a wildfire in the Santa Cruz mountains. The so-called Summit fire burned more than 4,200 acres and destroyed at least three dozen homes in just over a week. Using the Summit fire as a training platform, San Diego firefighters took a giant step toward becoming certified military managers, if we have another big fire.
Two weeks ago Cal-Fire began writing the last chapter to be able to quickly call on military pilots to help fight the next big fire, if they're available.
The agency received a huge amount of criticism during and after the 2007 wildfire with critics saying they refuse to let the military fly. Even members of congress were accusatory. Others asked why regulations can't be overlooked.
San Diego firefighters Dan King and Bill Alton are undergoing training as military managers. During a wildfire, civilian contract aircraft -- or in this case, military aircraft -- need a military manager on board as the link between forces on the ground and in the air.
"The term spotter has been used quite a bit and we've learned there's more to it: actually managing the aircraft, connecting with the military crews and getting them ready to go on a fire if that's the case," King said.
When it came to using the military in 2007, Cal-Fire admitted it didn't have enough military managers but that's now being addressed.
Part of the training to become a military manager is a lot of classroom work, but there's no substitute for the real thing. Case in point: the recent fire in Santa Cruz. The two San Diego trainees flew with the National Guard on that fire under the supervision of a military manager.
"It was a good evaluation process for the military because it was an early fire in the season. It was good to get the military ramped up and good for us because you always want real life experience," said Alton.
And no question, both say, San Diego is in a better position now because of it.
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