Page 4 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-19

LETTERS cont’d from page 3
Power Shutdowns
and fire protection resources are overwhelmed.
While I did not loose my home, living in Graton at the time, working in this capacity, I almost lost my wits.
Because of the heightened media focus on the PG&E power shutdowns last month there was more public awareness of the associated critical fire weather conditions that existed.
Thanks to the improved weather data available from PG&E the general public no longer needs to be a fire and weather geek to obtain the information needed to personally take greater control over what could be life-and-death decision making the next time fires escape during severe Diablo winds.
Please, if you can, when you can, please continue to remember and honor the first on the scene and especially the people who step up to help others “ pick up the pieces” as Second Responders.
This is a good thing because the fire danger was very real, even though the actual winds weren’t as extreme as had been predicted.
While first responders are usually trained in this field, many of us flew by the seat of our pants, empathy engaged.
While outrage and the relative merits of power shutdowns will be debated for a long time to come, PG&E has made two important improvements.
The education, preparation, and commitment needed to improve safety during disastrous fires are similar to protecting yourself from flooding or earthquakes.
It would mean a great deal to me and many other people who came to the aid, in every capacity, to serve our community during a time of great need, then, now and in the future to be honored and remembered as a part for the role we served.
PG&E has added more than 600 new remote automated weather stations to the California network of fire danger rating weather stations.
Simply put, have plans for monitoring the weather and what you need to do as conditions become more serious.
Thank you Vesta, for the platform for our voices.
More importantly for the general public, there is now relatively user- friendly access to actual real-time weather information by using the weather map at the bottom of the recently launched “PG&E Weather Awareness” webpage at https://www. pge.com/weather.
Be aware of Red Flag Warnings issued for where you are and for the hills to the North and East of you. During Red Flag Warnings monitor the actual wind and relative humidity using the PG&E weather map or other methods. This can be thought of as similar to living near a river predicted to flood, monitoring actual river levels, knowing about flood stages, and making appropriate preparations.
Mahalo
Safe Power
It’s time to move forward
with microgrids that serve west county population centers. There
are multiple benefits that would come to residents of the county if neighborhoods were to be the source of energy with no reliance on PGE
to provide reliable and safe power. We have the technology and much
of the feasibility of the idea has been performed by the creation of the MAC’s. Tell Lynda Hopkins we want local renewable energy providers
to lead the way and not look to San Francisco or Berkeley to muscle their way in on the work. Local companies for local energy. Good jobs and cleaner air are just the start of the benefits to us.
Beef Mcwin
Who is in POWER?
Since the 1960’s many fire experts have known that very specific “north wind events” in California can create fire weather conditions so extreme that the associated fire danger
is unparalleled anywhere in the United States. These winds known locally as “Diablo Winds” are a close meteorological cousin to the better- known “Santa Ana” winds.
Critical Diablo fire weather conditions are generally considered to be winds blowing from the North or East exceeding 20mph and/or relative humidity less than 20%. Some additional rules of thumb include, take action if there is a fire within five or ten miles up-wind of you spreading under these kinds of critical weather conditions.
Simply put, these very dry off-shore winds happen here 2-3 times a year when desert air is pushed over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then blows from the North or East over Central California towards the ocean. And since the 1960’s the National Weather Service has done a good
If the daytime sky turns dark with smoke evacuate immediately even if you can’t see the fire.
job of issuing “Red Flag Warnings” forecasts when these dry winds are predicted.
And lastly, if fire debris or burning embers are falling around you evacuate immediately, even if the wind isn’t blowing hard at your location.
The Public Utilities Commission gave PG&E half a billion dollars to upgrade their infrastructure, but they decided to give half of it to share holders instead, and have been paying off our elected officials. Our Congressperson, for instance, has taken 50 donations from PG&E over the last 20 years, adding up to tens of thousands of dollars. That’s why we have “preventative black outs”.
Compared to Southern California’s fire problems we are fortunate that the San Francisco Bay Area has a well-defined, extremely predictable, and relatively limited potential for disastrous fire loss. Over the past century from Cloverdale to San
Ethan Foote, Retired Fire Officer
So when you see Andy Vesey, the CEO of PG&E on TV, saying they aren’t shutting off power because
it’s easy, they care about safety, it’s dishonest. If PG&E really cared about our safety they would have placed cabled underground instead of lining their own pockets.
Examples prior to 2017 include the 1923 conflagrations in the Valley of the Moon and Berkeley Hills, and
the 1964 Hanley and Nuns Canyon fires. One problem is that the general public has not been well educated or informed about this in the past.
I hope that the Federalist Papers have been helpful in guiding you through this moment in history...#s 65 and 68 are relevant reads right now!
Jose, and west of Mount St. Helena & Mount Diablo, there has almost never been a disastrous loss of life or property from fire except during extreme north wind events.
Hey ! It’s me again, this time I am popping in to encourage everyone
to check out the Hobbs Act..18
U.S.C ...1951...It is available on the Department of Justice web site and is VERY easy to read!
WE the PEOPLE
WE THE PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL TOGETHER!!!!!
Yours, Sincerely, as always, Terry Kully
4 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 11/19
Jason Kishineff, American Canyon
Another challenge is that disastrous fire loss has only happened when
the high winds actually surface as forecasted, a wind-blown fire starts,
LETTERS: email to: vesta@sonic.net