SILVERADO CANYON : Fire Station Work to Begin in May

Workers are scheduled to begin rebuilding the county’s Silverado Canyon Fire Station next month, less than six months after a fire damaged the facility.

Work plans are being finalized and the station could be rebuilt by the end of summer, Battalion Chief Don Forsyth said.

“Everything is going pretty well at this point,” Forsyth said. “I hope (for the work to be completed) within the next couple of months.”

The Nov. 30 blaze, which destroyed the fire station’s equipment room as well as one fire engine, caused about $750,000 in damage. Insurance will cover the losses, but the county must pay a $10,000 deductible, said Maria Bastanchury, the county’s risk manager.

The county has received a $250,000 advance on the settlement, which officials used to replace the fire engine and other equipment.

“We didn’t want to wait until the end of the claim to do that,” Bastanchury said.

Though a large portion of the 20-year-old station was charred, the nearby office was preserved and should require minimal repairs, she said.

For the past few months, the volunteer firefighters have worked out of a large metal tent next to the station.