Update from Kate - Thanks to Marin Firefighters and What We Can Do

Special Thanks to Our Marin Firefighters and What We Can Do
To Make Our Homes and Neighborhoods Safer

At our Board meeting on Tuesday, September 15, my colleagues and I took a moment to express our thanks and gratitude to the many firefighters across the State, and our own here in Marin, who are battling the many fires now raging in California.  Fire agencies throughout Marin have assigned 108 fire fighters throughout the State, including over 65 from Marin County Fire.

My special thanks to the Tam Fire Crew who spent 42 days straight fighting fires, away from their families, doing great work to protect people and property. According to Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber, for the first time Marin is holding all personnel “on duty” with no days off to ensure that our county is kept safe and support is available for other areas in need. We value and appreciate this extraordinary commitment from our firefighters, agency staff members and their families through these challenging times.

The Valley Fire has claimed a life, engulfed 67,000 acres and destroyed over 1,000 structures with more than 26,000 evacuees.  We send our sympathies to those in Lake County who have suffered devastation and displacement as a result of the Valley Fire. If you would like to help the Lake County fire victims, please click on the link here or see the attached Marin County news release for information about what to do.

Devastating fire can happen here in Marin. “We live in a susceptible area with high fire danger,” said Chief Weber, “but there are lots of things people can do right now to make our homes and neighborhoods safer.”  We all need to do our part to prepare and take responsibility for our safety.

An easy first step is to go the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services webpage to register both VoIP and cell phones so you can receive alerts and information. "By the time people see smoke, it's too late," warned Chief Weber.

September is “Preparedness Month” and Marin County has many programs to help us prepare for disasters, whether fire, flood, earthquake or extreme weather. The defensible space program is offering property inspections to highlight specific measures, like moving debris away from homes, pruning overhanging trees, cleaning gutters which harbor flammable pine needles, and cleaning under decks.

Practical programs to check out include:

• Defensible Space - clearance to 100 feet to help survive a wild or earthquake fire
• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) - people helping people
• Ready Set Go - preparation checklists for family, neighborhood, property
• Get Ready - resident preparation for disaster: flood, fire, earthquake
• Marin on Fire - strategy to protect your neighborhood

I hope you will consider the actions you can take immediately to help keep Marin safe.

Please stay in touch and feel welcome to write to me at ksears@marincounty.org. Share this information with friends and urge them to subscribe to my news and information by signing up.

• 20150916OES-ValleyFire+v5.pdf