 I had the pleasure of introducing Don Ryan, Solano County's Office of Emergency Services Manager at a recent town hall meeting to address wildfire preparedness and county roads.
Town Hall: Wildfire Preparedness and Solano County’s Roads
This week I had the privilege of hosting a town hall meeting for residents of the 4th District to address concerns about wildfire and our county road system.
Held at the Vine Street Fire Station, about 40 residents showed up for a two-hour discussion that touched on how to prepare for wildfire, what to do when a wildfire occurs, as well as how our county roads are maintained and what to do if you see a dangerous road condition or an area where weeds pose a fire threat. The meeting couldn’t have come at a better time, as just days before a fire broke out near the border of Napa and Solano County near Wragg Canyon, the site of the Wragg Fire in 2015 that burned more than 8,000 acres over the course of two weeks.
Solano County OES Manager Don Ryan was on hand to tell residents about PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff Program. Numerous resources are available online to help residents prepare for a mandatory power shutoff when weather conditions, such as red flag days and high heat are present. According to Don, a great way to stay informed of these events is to log on to www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts and update your contact information so that you can receive an outage alert at 48 hours, 24 hours and just before a power is shut off. These alerts come via automated calls, texts and e-mails. Another great resource is Alert Solano, Solano County’s Regional Emergency Notification System. This system will send notifications to any device related to severe weather, road closures, evacuations, natural disasters and more. Sign up for Alert Solano by logging on to http://www.solanocounty.com/depts/oes/alertsolano/information.asp.
Another topic of discussion was how to protect your property and what to do in the event of a wildfire. Vacaville Fire Protection District Chief Howard Wood and Cal Fire Battalion Chief Miguel Watson had great advice for residents about creating defensible space around property, clearing dry debris from rain gutters. As for evacuation procedures, Miguel advised residents not to wait for a mandatory evacuation, but to be prepared to leave when Cal Fire issues an advisory. A great resource for preparing for wildfire can be accessed as part of Cal Fire’s Ready, Set, Go! Campaign at https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/. Large animals also present a challenge when it comes time to evacuate. Fortunately, Vicki Dawson of Solano Community Animal Response Team was on hand to offer advice. For more information about their organization, call 707-355-4030 or visit www.solanocart.org.
Another topic of the town hall was roads. Solano County’s Public Works Operations Manager Kacy Bowers and Engineering Manager Matt Tuggle were able to address how roads are identified for repair or replacement through our five-year Capital Improvement Plan. Areas of concern included how to report a dangerous road condition, request repair, report weeds, downed trees and more. Illegal dumping is another issue and our deputy sheriff’s and public works staff work hard to investigate and remove garbage from our roadways and creeks. To report illegal dumping, call 707-421-7090 or e-mail illegaldumping@solanocounty.com. To contact the Public Works Operations Division, call 707-421-6055.
I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the town hall and offer a special thanks to Suzanne Eustis, a District 4 resident, for contacting my office with the request for the meeting and getting the word out. As always, if you have a concern or issue that you feel should be brought to my attention, please do not hesitate to contact myself or my staff.
 |
|
Since 2003, Supervisor John M. Vasquez has had the privilege to represent the 4th Supervisorial District covering Northern Solano County. The district includes portions of Vacaville and Dixon. Contact him at 707-784-6129 or e-mail jmvasquez@solanocounty.com. You can follow him on Twitter @SupeVasquez. |
|
