KELSEYVILLE >> Despite abundant winter rain, long range modeling conducted by CAL FIRE which looks three months out, and is based on precipitation, the fire season now looks to already be upon Lake County.
Invited by the BVAC, District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska appeared before the council here on Wednesday for an update from the county perspective. April was dry and May is shaping up to be dry as well and June, likely warmer than usual, noted Pyska. Many are doing weeding followed up by intermittent showers Pyska said so residents toggle back and forth from weeding to waiting out short-lived sprinkles, only to return to weeding again.
“But it’s critical you maintain vegetation management because one of the things we know, defensible space saves homes,” she said. Defensible space is a natural or landscaped area around a structure that has been maintained and designed to halt the progress of fire that would otherwise engulf one’s property. It also helps ensure the safety of firefighters and other first responders who arrive to mitigate a disaster. Meanwhile, Zone Zero is a tactic that has been worked on for years to boost fire resiliency. “It’s part of Governor Newsom’s executive orders and that is; nothing combustible within the first five feet of your home.” she said. “That’s no plants, wood chips, wooden furniture.”
She went on to caution it is going to be an early and active fire season. A few weeks prior while working with the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, she pushed the committee to talk about fire insurance issues. “We’re having an insurance crisis in California, and it’s not just this state but almost every other state. And she pointed out it is not just wildfires but flooding, hurricanes and the changing climate is exacerbating the weather pattern where storms are getting stronger and occur more often. Meanwhile the insurance industry is trying to figure out how best to deal with the unfolding situation and the companies are raising rates, with which many U.S, citizens cannot keep pace. Recently Senator Elizabeth Warren invited Pyska to come to Washington D.C. for discussions on rising insurance rates yet broadened discussion to disaster mitigation. And often in recent years, talk out of Washinton D.C. revolved around the millions of dollars the government has invested in mitigation efforts
But Pyska noted according to FEMA for each dollar invested there is $7 to $13 down the road that was saved if a catastrophic event occurs “And these federal mitigation programs are being cut,” she said. Under current negotiations between Congress and the Trump Administration there are a lot proposals to reach a deal but along with reductions in programs, which mainly help the indigent, there are efforts to appease constituencies, There are grant programs available not only for the county but throughout the nation. “The grant programs are critical,” Pyska told the BVAC. “Now we have full federal and state lobbyists under contract with Lake County. We get weekly updates and monitor everything that aligns with our government priorities, which we set every January
And cuts to Medicaid in particular will affect people who live in Lake County. “There are 54% in the county who live on those benefits,” she said. And there are deep cuts slated for the SNAP program. The federal government has fully paid for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since it was created in 1939 as a way to fight food insecurity amid the Great Depression. But now, Republicans in Congress are looking into forcing states to pay for 5 to 25 percent of SNAP funding.
Yet Pyska had good news, the Secure Rural Schools program which provides critical funding for schools, roads, and other municipal services to more than 700 counties across the U.S., has been re-authorized. “That was something we were pushing for because we have national forests in Lake County and we get funding that goes to some of those schools and some of the money goes to Lake County. And we use it for road infrastructure around the schools, So, that would have hurt Lake County had it not been re-authorized.”
Mark Lipps a BVAC member, commented the one hand in everybody’s pocket is PG&E with their high utility rates and inquired if there was no micro-grid proposal. Pyska discussed the county’s conversation regarding approval of a feasibility analysis with Sonoma Clean Power. “It is a nonprofit and not an investor-owned utility company that rents PG&E infrastructure. “So, we want Lake County to be part of their portfolio,” she said. “So now, Sonoma Clean power is working things out, building a feasibility analysis and will come back in a month or two.” If an agreement can be reached, a contract will need to be signed by January 1 in order to prepare offering service by next spring.
Lipps also noted there are solar projects he is aware of which have gone through nine or 10 months getting permitted, especially during summer and spending thousands of dollars.. “So, solar or battery power storage would help if we can streamline the process.” he said.
