REGION: Firefighter memorial gets boost
Firefighter memorial gets boost
10 November 2008
published by www.nctimes.com
California, USA — County supervisors recently approved $15,000 in funding to help build a memorial to firefighters who died fighting wildfires in the state.
On Nov. 4, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Supervisor John Tavaglione absent, to contribute the money toward a decadelong effort to build a monument to the state’s fallen wildland firefighters.
The partly constructed memorial is along the Ortega Highway —- which connects Lake Elsinore and San Juan Capistrano —- near El Cariso Village.
More than 300 firefighters —- including five in the Esperanza fire in Riverside County in 2006 —- have died fighting wildland fires in California since records have been kept.
The nonprofit group California Wildland Firefighter Memorial hopes to collect about $150,000 in donations to complete the monument.
The county money —- $5,000 each from 5th District Supervisor Marion Ashley, 1st District Supervisor Bob Buster and 4th District Supervisor Ray Wilson —- comes from the supervisors’ community improvement funds.
