We are happy to see that District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown’s push this fire season to clean up miles of brush along the roadside on Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville over the weekend was a resounding success with plenty of volunteers teaming up with county crews to cut and remove vegetation as part of the “1,000 Hands to Protect Lake County,” as the project was dubbed.
According to information made available by Lake County officials prior to Saturday’s clean-up effort, Brown initially sought 500 volunteers to help out with a four-hour shift at six worksites in the Soda Bay Corridor, beginning at the intersection of Highway 281 and Tenino Way in the Rivieras area of Kelseyville.
Although reportedly only 600 hands pitched in to do the work (not counting County staff and local emergency agencies) the volunteers worked hard throughout the morning and according to Phil Hartley, President of the Riviera West Home Owners Association, “they did a great job and came away with a feeling they had made a difference.”
Provided with water and gloves for those who did not have their own, the volunteers worked trimming brush and clearing up flammable material from the roadway. In addition, members of the Kelseyville Fire Protection District were present to patrol and to tend to any medical needs, in the event any arose during the clean-up effort. As a special incentive, anyone interested in participating in a fire extinguisher giveaway the following morning at Riviera Elementary School received a voucher to be first in line to get a fire extinguisher by participating in the 1,000 Hands effort.
Although there were some initial questions on whether the project would move forward in the wake of the recent Golf Fire incident, not only did it move forward, by all accounts there was strong participation by the volunteers and the community.
“Like all Lake County residents, I am thankful for the quick and effective work done by firefighters and other first responders to contain the Golf Fire,” said Brown prior to the weekend event. “I am also even more committed to doing what I can to limit the chance that a wildfire happens again.”
We send kudos to Brown, Lake County staff, fire fighters from the Kelseyville Fire Protection District, CAL Fire crews, law enforcement personnel and residents who banded together and took part in the unprecedented effort to clear the roadside vegetation.
We only hope this recent effort spearheaded by Brown motivates and encourages other districts and communities to pitch in with similar efforts throughout the County. There is only so much fire risk mitigation and prevention our local officials and fire agencies can handle with limited funds and cutbacks in department staffing. As residents, it is important we all lend a hand in protecting our community from the, by now, too familiar danger of wildfires.
