Discussing real threats

Hats off to Kathy Hartzell, the Inverness Foundation and the West Marin Rotary for hosting the Wildfire Symposium this past Sunday at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. There were over 150 people in attendance.

She panel of speakers, facilitated by Marin Independent Journal’s political correspondent Dick Spotswood, included Ray Moritz from Urban Forestry Associates, Christie Neill from the Marin County Fire Department, Inverness Fire Chief Jim Fox, West Marin Disaster Council coordinator Anne Sands, Jeremiah Hanks from the Point Reyes National Seashore, and Supervisor Dennis Rodoni.

As we saw with the devastating fires that our neighbors in Napa and Sonoma experienced this past fall, as well as other fires throughout the state, that wildfire is a real threat in California. There are things that residents in fire prone areas can do. All these links will send you to sites where more information can be found.

• Sign up with your local disaster council.
• Register with Alert Marin.
• Make sure your property has good defensible space.
• Have two or more escape routes.
• Clear rooftops, gutters and under decks of debris.
• Firesafe your home as much as you can.
• Be sure your insurance coverage is adequate.
• Have a plan and a go bag if you have to evacuate.

In the event of a fire, an Incident Commander will be established. This person will be the point person for coordinating fighting the fire. The Disaster Council in the area will be activated, and if you are on their radar, you will be notified. KWMR will work with the Incident Commander, first responders and Disaster Councils to get verified information to the community over the airwaves. Be sure to tune in to KWMR. 90.5 FM in Point Reyes Station, 89.9 FM in Bolinas and Stinson, 92.3 FM in the San Geronimo Valley. Why not set KWMR on your car radio now, so you can tune in from your vehicle.

Ready Marin and FireSafe Marin are two sites that hold a wealth of information.

The sponsoring organizations for this event included: FireSafe Marin, Marin County CERT, Marin County Fire, Point Reyes National Seashore – NPS, County of Marin, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Inverness Volunteer Fire Department, California State Parks, Tomales Bay Watershed Council, KWMR, Point Reyes Station Village Association, and the Rotary Club of West Marin.

The four-hour event was recorded and KWMR is working to make an edited recording of the proceedings available to the community. We will let you know when the recording is ready.