06/14/2026
On Saturday June 13, the Eagles Nest Fire Dept held a Training Exercise near the intersection of Swanson Shores Rd and Jesse Blvd on Lake 3. The purpose of this exercise was in part to test out a new site for lake water access to provide needed and timely water resources when firefighting.
Having a site where we can easily access lake water is the rural equivalent of tapping into a fire hydrant. This supply augments the Fire Dept trucks which are only able to initially arrive with ~3,000 gallons of water to a fire scene. For a structure fire it may be necessary to use as much as 50,000 gallons of water. For this exercise we pumped lake water from a nearby residence to refill our fire trucks and for the first time to test our ability to successfully access additional emergency water from this specific location. Having many locations across our township for lake water access reduces delays in water delivery that would otherwise result from long shuttle trips needed for our Water Tender Truck and other tankers to haul from remote locations.
The fire department is grateful to these owners in consenting to provide this access and thereby improving the response time and safety for the entire neighborhood should a fire emergency develop. Many of the lake properties in our township have steep banks and other obstacles which make access to the lake shore water for our department vehicles difficult. We would like to preplan for access locations wherever we can to the many lakes and roads in our township.
If anyone has a suitable access on their property for our pumping vehicle (pick up sized vehicle) to access lake shore water, we would be glad to work with you on checking out the feasibility. Please reach out to us! Thank You.
