Page 43 - Sonoma County Gazette - June 2018

Fire Hazards in Illegal Encampments
It is a lovely spring day, with sunshine on the large redwoods outside of my airy cyber-hut. Memorial Day looms large and when this column comes out Summer will be in full swing in west county!
An update to an article submitted last May about trespassing enforcement and fire prevention as it relates to illegal homeless encampments in our area.
This year is different. A couple of weeks ago, I felt a strange fear I have never felt before as I witnessed a small windstorm in Coffey Park. I looked around
at the surrounding hills, and the dry grass stood out more. This awful thought crept into my head, what if it happened again? I hope that we are all going to be more vigilant now that we have experienced the most horrible example of the devastation that fire can cause. We all need to be responsible for ourselves by doing things like creating defensible space around our homes, attending planning meetings, and avoiding recklessness with BBQs and campfires, but what about the illegal encampments around us?
The Cazadero Community Club will be hosting an “Appreciation Dinner” for the Cazadero VFD, Ft. Ross VFD and Cal Fire, plus Caz Club members and special guests on Saturday, June 16th, 6 p.m. at Firehall #1. A wonderful catered dinner will be provided by The Rio Cafe in Monte Rio, with desserts and drinks from Club members. I hope that you will attend! Due to the Primary Election on June 5th, the regular monthly meeting of the Club will be on June 12th-7 p.m. at the Firehall. Please come to the meeting and help to plan events which benefit the entire community.
Like it or not, the reality of the situation is that the winter
shelter has closed once again, and the homeless have headed
With these camps come the very real danger of escaped camp fires, of which there were approximately 10 over the last year in our area per Russian River Fire Captain Ryan Lantz. No open flames for cooking or warming are allowed anytime in illegal encampments. Though no suspect has been identified, there were also two very large arson fires near a homeless encampment off of Neely Rd. on consecutive weekend days last summer. The CAL FIRE helicopter had to be deployed to scoop water from the river to douse the flames, as the fires were in a remote area up a steep hillside that was very difficult to access. Any one of these situations could have been catastrophic, like the devastating fires we all witnessed last November.
Many of you have probably received an interesting and very informative mailing from our local Fire Protection Districts, outlining plans for local response to possible emergencies and evacuations.You may access their website at www.russianriverfire.org It is extremely important that we all realize that we are personally responsible for preparedness. Something that we certainly hope never happens is always possible.
out to trespass in the woods and set up illegal camps.
So, besides being responsible for ourselves, what can we as community members do to try and help prevent a major fire from occurring in an illegal encampment out here?
The students at Montgomery School will say good-bye to the 2017-2018 school year on Thursday, June 7th. But not before hosting Field Day on Friday, June 1st. The students and staff from Fort Ross School will participate in the festivities and enjoy a bar-b-que lunch planned by Montgomery’s Parents Booster Club. And the big event of the year for one of our students, will take place on Wednesday, June 6th. Ian Sexton is our lone graduate this year and
we will send him off to El Molino High School for 2018-2019 school year with our love and support. The graduation ceremony will be at 7pm. On Friday, June 8th, the Parents Booster Club is hosting the end of the school year picnic and pool party at the Rio Nido Roadhouse. A reminder that the school is accepting registration for Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten for the fall. Call
the school office at 707-632-5221 for information. Additionally, the STARS Preschool at Montgomery School is also enrolling children for the fall. Contact them at 707-865-0223. This will be our last news until school starts up again on Wednesday, August 22nd. Many thanks to all our parents and friends of the community who have assisted us this year. Have a great summer and we’ll see you next year. I thank school secretary Julie LaPlante for her MES info for this column.
Here’s what you should know: For the Sheriff to enforce trespassing on private property, there are two requirements that BOTH have to be met.
The property has to be properly posted with no trespassing signs “along
all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the property”. It is recommended that these signs be placed up high so they are less likely to be removed. In addition, a Trespass Action Request form has to be completed by the property owner and filed with the Sheriff’s dept. EVERY six months. These forms can be obtained from the Guerneville Sheriff’s Substation (Sonoma County Sheriff’s dispatch 707-565-2121 or Guerneville sub-station 707-869- 0202), or by contacting the Guerneville Community Alliance, see below.
One of the obstacles in our area is that there are many vacant properties that have out-of-town owners who may not be aware that there is a problem on their property. A useful tool that anyone can use to identify the address, parcel number, and owner information of a property is a free commercial website - www.makeloveland.com. It can be difficult to identify parcels in wooded areas, but this website allows you to scroll over parcels until you find the right one.
The annual St. Coleman’s Guild Salad Luncheon has been set for Saturday, July 28th, noon at the Firehall. After June 11th, please call Sally Johnson at 632 5211 for reservations. An always fun -filled and flavorful event!
The Guerneville Community Alliance has additional resources to identify parcel information, and we may be able to physically meet at a location in which it is difficult to determine the parcel number and/or address. We have form letters ready to send to out of town property owners, which inform
them there is a problem they may not be aware of, and offers to help them get it resolved without any further fines and/or legal action. We try to include photographs, and it is helpful if people forward photographs of the problem to us for that purpose. We also offer to randomly monitor the property and work with the Sheriff’s Dept. or Fire Dept. if new problems develop, as well as offer referrals for trash clean-up in the event they are unable to do the clean-up themselves. If the property owner is unresponsive, contact Sonoma County Environmental Health at 707-565-6565 or eh@sonoma-county.org.
Remember that Cazadero Supply offers its 1st Saturday 15% Discount Day to help with you garden, vehicular and household projects.
Per Chief Steve Baxman of the Monte Rio Fire Dept., if a fire hazard is identified, the best thing to do first is to contact your local Fire dept. For Forestville contact Chief Dave Francechi at 707-887-2212. For Guerneville call the business office at 707-869-9089. For Monte Rio contact Chief Steve Baxman at 707-484-2320. We also have a Cal FIRE station in Hilton between Rio Nido and Forestville, and they have the ability to do safety inspections and/or write citations holding owners responsible for hazardous situations.
I want to wish a very Happy Anniversary to tireless community volunteer Toni Parmeter and husband Ted. My dear husband Gregorio will celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary on June 21st. Bob Kelly’s birthday is on June 1st, Jesse Abend on the 5th, hardware “king” Don Berry has his day on the 10th, another wonderful local volunteer Linda Baswell will celebrate on the 12th, Jeff Parmeter on the 15th and Marsha Weidmann on the 20th.
To learn more about the Lower River Area Community Alliances, volunteer, or if you have community concerns or solutions you would like to share, you can “like” our Guerneville Community Alliance and/or Russian River Alliance FB pages. You can also contact Mark Emmett at 707-529-0534 or Jeniffer Wertz at 707-483-7038 (Guerneville), or Chuck Ramsey at 707-239-1639 (Monte Rio).
Happy Father’s Day and congratulations to all new school graduates. Several Cazadero El Molino grads will also receive scholarships from the Cazadero Community Club and Cazadero Firefighter’s Association.
As the Primary Election nears on June 5th, I urge you to vote! I would never tell you who or what to vote for, but remind you that your vote may be the difference in local contests. If you don’t vote, don’t complain!
Raymond’s Bakery continues with its wonderful Friday Pizza and Music Nights until 9 p.m.
Margie Cramers “Caz Central” adjacent to the Cazadero General Store has lovely locally made gifts, including local poet Shashana Kane Proctpr’s newest book “Cave of the Casting Bones”. Both the Caz store and Duncans Mills General Stores offer groceries, local specialties and tasty sandwiches and soups. Gold Coast Coffee and Bakery’s back deck has been expanded and is a perfect place to relax. Visit Mr.Trombly’s Teas and Taste shops in Duncans Mills for a terrific variety of teas, and accessories.
Enjoy summer. Please drive carefully and call me at 6325545 or email mayawrld@sonic.net with info for your Cazadero column!
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