Why did they close Christmas Hill Park and use it as the base
camp for the firefighters?
Burning Question
Dear Red Phone:
Why did they close Christmas Hill Park and use it as the base camp for the firefighters? Didn’t the fire start in Morgan Hill at Henry Coe State Park? Isn’t it a big waste of taxpayers money for them to commute to the fire from Gilroy instead of being closer to where the fire originated?
Red Phone:
Dear Fired Up: CalFire information officer Kevin Colburn said it’d be great to stage crews closer to the fire – if a big location with the infrastructure to support more than 1,800 firefighters and dozens of engines were available.
“There’s nothing big enough with the infrastructure to do it all,” Colburn said. Christmas Hill Park “is a perfect location. Granted, it’s a little far away, but it’s got all the things that are needed. Size is a big issue.”
CalFire usually designates locations in advance for emergencies, and often stages crews at parks or fairgrounds. Christmas Hill Park, which gears up annually for the Garlic Festival, has what it takes to support the crews.
Also, as firefighters started attacking the flames from the southern end of the park in Hollister, the site is now actually closer to where firefighters are working than a Morgan Hill park.
But caller, if you can find a closer site, CalFire is waiting for your call.
wasted effort
Dear Red Phone:
I was reading the article, “A Drink to Help Put Students Through College,” Since these people are having it open to the public and they are serving liquor and charging admission, are they required to have a liquor license? It is really ironic that we are telling students not to drink and people sponsor fund-raisers and use alcohol as the main ingredient.
Red Phone:
Dear Irony Police: Organizations hosting large events with alcohol do need a $25 liquor license from Santa Clara County Alcohol and Beverage Control, and the Latino Family Fund de Gilroy has got one, said organizer Leighan Perales.
As for ironic, this does not quite qualify. If it was a beer-chugging contest to prevent college binge drinking, we’d agree. But this is sip of tequila, “just enough to swish around,” Perales said. And the money is not going toward alcoholism prevention, but an array of possible philanthropic projects, one of which might be college scholarships.
Perales said that she’s received a number of calls criticizing the choice of pairing tequila with a fund-raiser. All this begs the questions: why hate on the hard liquor? Is this another case of tequilaism?
“Would they be making a stink if it was wine?” Perales asked.
