SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) — In the North Bay, hundreds learned how to protect their homes and families from the threat of wildfire. A wildfire preparedness expo armed homeowners with useful information and tools.
We’ve already seen several grassfires this weekend in the Bay Area. One fire department is getting ready to declare the start of what could be a busy fire season.
First responders from across the North Bay were together in one place Sunday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds to help get homeowners prepared for wildfire emergencies.
“Making sure combustibles have been removed, paying attention to weather and taking responsible for keeping your home safe,” said Joel Holland from Wildfire Services Group.
How to do that can be overwhelming. But there’s tips, like how to evacuate your neighborhood during a wildfire and where to go, signing up for emergency alerts and watching safety demos for avoiding downed power lines.
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Elizabeth Ramirez showed us the free emergency go bag her family got, full of items she hopes she’ll never need. She has lived in Santa Rosa 20 years and has witnessed multiple wildfires.
“It was horrible. It was something that we don’t want to go through again,” Ramirez said.
On Saturday, fire crews battled a 3-alarm vegetation fire in the Oakland Hills. No structures were threatened and forward progress was stopped. Fires like this are no surprise to local agencies.
“We’ve seen conditions change locally from lush green hills to brown dry hills,” said Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.
Lowenthal says it’s why his department will declare the start of wildfire season on June 2.
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“Santa Rosa is one of the agencies that does declare the start of fire season, primarily because it’s tied to ordinances. It’s a good reminder how things are drying out (and) that it’s important to be prepared,” Lowenthal said.
The expo also has ideas like for creating home landscapes, which are fire safe. Next year, California will require homeowners living in high-risk fire areas to make drastic changes, focusing on “zone zero,” which is the defensible space that is zero to five feet from structures.
“It’s a function of changing old practices of having shrubs against your house because of risk it brings,” said Mimi Enright from UC Cooperative Extension.
Ramirez and her family are leaving a bit wiser on how to handle a wildfire emergency.
“Being out here today has given us a lot of answers to questions we have,” Ramirez said.
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