New Emergency Services Procedures -
Summer 2022
After extensive efforts by Gary Stahl (Cabin 60) and his team, the Southwest Shore Association will have an updated Emergency Service Response System in place by the end of Summer 2022.
In case of emergency, Southwest Shore families and friends can call “911” on either a cell phone or a land line. Give the 911 Operator the “Street Address” of your cabin, and a description of your emergency. Emergency Service Responders will have immediate access to maps and directions to reach the cabin location. Make sure that all family members and other cabin users know your “Street Address” — i.e., your Cabin Number plus the name of the Road associated with your cabin. (see SWS Maps webpage).
The central key to this new Emergency Response System is the San Bernardino County (SBC) Geographic Information System (GIS). This SBC-GIS contains an extensive database showing each “Street Address,” its GPS coordinates, and any additional information and directions needed by Emergency Service Responders to reach the cabin location. Each Emergency Services Provider (e.g., Fire Department, Sheriff, Ambulance, etc.) has electronic access to the SBC-GIS to obtain location directions. The SBC-GIS is updated frequently, as appropriate, with new information about each geographic location.
As of July 2022, the Southwest Shore location data has been uploaded to SBC-GIS. County officials as well as local Emergency Services personnel are making onsite visits to the Southwest Shore to validate the GIS data and to augment the data with specific access instructions (e.g., 4-wheel drive only.) Once the GIS data has been validated, local Emergency Service Responders will incorporate the data into their local access systems, both in their dispatch offices and on their emergency vehicles. The system is expected to be operational by the end of this summer.
We are also working with the SBNF Coalition Committee (SBNFCC) on implementing this new Emergency Response System in all 17 of the Forest Service Cabin Tracts in the Big Bear area. The SBNFCC has representatives from all those tracts, and also has a good working relationship with the Forest Service. Hopefully, SBNFCC, SBC-GIS, and local Emergency Services Providers (ESPs) can work together to implement this important project.
For more information about the Emergency Response System, please visit the Emergency Services page of this website.