TRUCKEE

Truckee Donner Public Utility District and Truckee Fire Protection District are joining forces to encourage community members to help keep the community safe by adopting a fire hydrant this winter. 

While most people focus on removing snow from driveways, walkways, decks, and roofs, not everyone thinks about removing snow from shared community resources like fire hydrants. There are almost 3,000 fire hydrants in the Truckee Fire Protection District, and while TDPUD and Truckee Fire clear some priority hydrants on main roads and near critical infrastructure, it’s not practical or feasible to task either agency with providing the resources necessary to clear the thousands of hydrants in town following each storm. 

TDPUD and Truckee Fire ask Truckee residents to “Adopt a Hydrant” in their neighborhood, and work with their neighbors to keep it clear of snow. Here are a few tips: 

• Clear a 3-foot space all around the entire hydrant. 
• Clear a path from the hydrant to the street. 
• Clear all snow and ice from the 3-foot perimeter. 
• Exercise caution and use the appropriate tools when removing snow to avoid damaging the hydrant.

House fires occur at the highest rates during the winter months. When Truckee Fire responds to put out a house fire, they arrive with enough water to make an initial fire attack, but firefighters are quickly in need of a continuous water supply from a fire hydrant to extinguish some fires. Finding and connecting to a fire hydrant is one of the firefighters’ first priorities, but accessing them when they are buried under heavy snow can be a challenge. Firefighters might have to spend valuable time searching for and digging out a hydrant when they could be doing other important tasks to knock down a fire. 

For more information, visit truckeefire.org/adopt-a-hydrant.

~ Truckee Donner Public Utility District, Truckee Fire Protection District press release