Page 10 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-17

Fire Response
IIn the early hours of Monday,
October 9th, all of our West County Fire Departments emptied our stations to ght the catastrophic res attacking Sonoma County. We worked together, even cross- sta ng each other’s engines, to send as much help as possible – while still preparing for what could be coming our way (and handling regular calls for service). The res were traveling on wind gusts exceeding
80 miles an hour. Initial e orts to put
out the res had to be set aside for life
safety and evacuating as many people as possible. Evacuations included Sonoma Developmental Center, senior living center in Fountain Grove, etc. Fire ghters, current and retired, streamed into our re stations
to be ready for whatever might come. This was all managed by Sheri Central Dispatch and REDCOM dispatchers, who elded 300 calls/hour – that is a 911 call every 5 seconds!
Disaster Noti cations
We cannot stress enough the importance of staying informed before any disaster strikes. To have information pushed to
you, sign up for Nixle (text 888-777 with your zip code) and/
or SoCoAlert.com (707-565-1369) for phone alerts. During an emergency, critical information can be found on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Sonoma County Sheri ’s O ce, County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, etc. KRON 4 carried signi cant live coverage of the res and brie ngs as did KSRO radio, 1350AM and 103.5FM.
For the next 24-48 hours, West County re engines continued to support re suppression on multiple re fronts. As mutual aid engines arrived from throughout California, most of our engines were released. At the time of this writing, the res are mostly under control and crews are returning.
Evacuation Prep
Community Response
Hopefully, this event has made you think about what you would take if you had 1, 3, 5,
or 10 minutes to evacuate. What isn’t easily replaceable? Legal papers, family photos, computers, medications, family jewelry, etc. Make sure to grab your cell phone and charger to let everyone know you’re okay. For our 4-legged friends, besides the food and leashes, don’t forget a cage/crate. This may be necessary for shelters
or friend’s homes. Another issue was the lack of gasoline, either due to none left, no power, or the danger of ying embers.
What an amazing community we have! Many
shelters, both o cial and uno cial, sprung up
within hours to house people displaced by the
evacuations. Local hotels and vacation rental
owners o ered signi cantly discounted rates,
friends and family opened their homes, and complete strangers were seen picking up families from shelters and taking them home. Even out-of-county re ghters and police o cers found love from Sonoma County residents o ering housing. To the countless residents, merchants, and restaurants throughout West County that donated or prepared food/supplies for not only the evacuees, but re ghters, both local and from afar... we can’t thank you enough.
House Defense
There is excellent information from CAL FIRE about “defensible space” around
your house. Think about cleaning gutters and keeping ammable materials away, such
as rewood,
plastic
cabinets,
fences, kids’
toys, etc.
Remove
curtains from
windows that
can easily
catch re
from radiant
heat. If you
do evacuate, turn o the gas and water before you leave.
The support has been amazing; it makes us proud to call Sonoma County home and raise our families here. We would also like to extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those a ected by these events. It will be a long road to recovery, but anything is possible with this great community!
10 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 11/17
Thank You