our supervisors
I attended the Seismic Monitoring Advisory Committee meeting Monday, May 8, where I had the opportunity to ask questions about earthquake danger to our county. The questions regarded a 2002 Berkeley Seismological Laboratory geological report describing the Ma”acama Fault, which is located within a few miles of the western border of Lake County. The report concluded, “The Ma”acama fault most likely poses a significant seismic hazard, as it has a high slip rate and a slip deficit large enough to generate a magnitude 7 earthquake today since there have been no significant earthquakes on the fault in the historical record.”
Most members of the committee where surprised to learn this information. This report is 4 years old, and the danger has increased since then earthquake hazard maps show that the shaking intensity will be violent in areas close to the fault.
I didn”t mention at the meeting that I had delivered copies of the report along with a letter expressing my great concern, addressed to each supervisor, to their offices in December, 2004. Apparently, none of the supervisors disclosed this information to the seismic committee or the public, leaving their constituents unknowingly vulnerable to this disaster that will kill many people and destroy many people”s homes.
The no. 1 most important duty of any government, including the Board of Supervisors, is to protect its constituents against physical threat to their life and limbs. All five supervisors, individually and collectively, failed to perform this duty, allowing the citizens of Lake County to face the risk of death, without even warning them, or taking any noticeble action to defend them.
It is my opinion that none of the supervisors deserves his job; they should all be replaced or recalled for their gross negligence. They even continue to neglect our safety today, after I delivered copies of the geological report to them a second time on Friday, April 28. We deserve supervisors who at least care about whether we live or die. The citizens of Lake County should take whatever action is necessary to remove them from office.
Since I have been unable to get the supervisors to do anything about this danger, I asked Terre Logsdon of the Record-Bee if she could take action to warn us, and she has whole-heartedly agreed to publish the information that we need to know to defend ourselves. The Record-Bee and Terre Logsdon deserve our greatest gratitude for their public service of keeping us informed and alerted about this danger. Their work will surely save the lives and homes of some people who are at grave risk today. The report should be available from any county supervisor, or at www.seismo.berkeley.edu/seismo/annual_report/ar01_02/node28.html.
Paul Kolb
Upper Lake
