LAKEPORT— The Lake County Board of Supervisors held their weekly meeting Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the County Courthouse and online via zoom. This week they heard a presentation from the Risk Reduction Authority that coincided with their proclamation establishing May 1 as Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. They also discussed a proclamation of an existing local emergency regarding tree mortality and approved multiple fee increases across several departments.
Robyn Bera presented to the board on behalf of North Coast Opportunities announcing Kelseyville Riviera as the Cal Fire and CalOES candidate for their “Demonstration Community”, making it the pilot project for the California Wildfire Mitigation Program’s Home Hardening Initiative. This project could provide funding of over $20 million dollars to assist up to 25 homes this year to better prepare themselves for a wildfire by creating defensive space and retro-fitting older homes to current fire safety standards.
The project aims to increase that number to 100 homes next year and 375 after that. The board was happy with the decision as District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska stated, “Home hardening is community hardening.” Several representatives of homeowner associations in the Kelseyville Riviera area speaking on the issue expressed how badly they need the help and the funds to continue vegetation eradication and to adhere to fire safety regulations.
The Board members also heard a presentation from Michael Jones, University of California Cooperative Extension forestry advisor for Lake County, proclaiming the existence of a local emergency due to pervasive Conifer mortality and what can be done about it. He explained how the problem begins after trees experience trauma like fire damage and drought and become distressed, allowing an environment that wood eating beetles like the Western Pine and Red Turpentine Beetle thrive in, eventually killing the infested tree.
Pushing for a declaration of a local emergency to get Lake County designated as a tree mortality designation, Pyska said that aerial surveys of the region was very “eye opening” and the county will continue to work with nearby counties like Napa and Mendocino and conduct surveys every six months to keep collecting valuable data. Strategies for public safety outlined include the hardening of roadway and evacuation routes, the ongoing removal of hazardous trees from communities and building and maintaining fuel breaks.
This all went hand-in-hand with the Proclamation of May 1 as Wildfire Community Preparedness day as the ultimate goal heading into fire season is to raise fire safety awareness as well as prepare residents’ homes against wildfire as best as possible, with the aim of preparing the entire community as a whole. Officials noted that being prepared for a wildfire isn’t exactly something you can do on your own if you live in a tight neighborhood and requires the teamwork of every homeowner on the block in order to be successful.
Also approved by the board were amendments to the county’s Master Fee Schedule. Fee increases from approximately 10 departments including Public Health, Public Services, the Sheriff and the Library were discussed and passed. Most of these fees had not been increased in years and need to be adjusted now due to increased staffing costs with Anita Grant, county counsel saying, “It’s been over 20 years since the fees increased.” Some of the fees increased were vehicle impounding fees, use permit fees, late or lost property penalty fees at the library and various garbage fees at the landfill.
Video recordings of the Board of Supervisors meetings are available online on the County Facebook page or the County You Tube channel. Minutes and agendas as well as additional information can be found on the County website at lake county.ca.gov.
