FIRESafe MARIN News

FIRESafe MARIN will host a "Firewise Workshop" in Novato, February 9, 2018 from 11:00 am-2:00 pm.

You Can Help Organize Your Neighborhood!

This community workshop will help Marin neighborhoods prepare and organize to achieve Firewise USA recognition.  Learn about the benefits and challenges of Firewise recognition for your neighborhood, while preparing a plan to help your community survive a wildfire.  We'll have representatives from local fire departments, land management agencies like MMWD, Open Space, PG&E, and others to help you understand Marin's wildfire risk and develop a neighborhood-scale plan to address the risk.

Assemblymember Marc Levine and FIRESafe MARIN invite you to hear what state, county, and local governments are doing to prepare for wildfires and how we plan to improve fire safety in Marin.  Learn how to prepare your family, home and property in case of disaster.

A focus of the Town Hall is to inform residents of the work that agencies and individuals have done to plan for a fire disaster and to let them know how wildfire disasters will be handled in Marin County.

Marin IJ Public Affairs Show Spotlights Wildfire Danger

Marin Independent Journal

Wildfire experts agree that it’s not a question of if, but when a major wildfire will torch Marin County’s hillsides. The debate centers on whether Marin is doing all it can to prepare for the inevitable firestorm.

The National Weather Service has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for Marin County from Friday at 10 pm through Sunday at 10 am.  This type of fire weather is extremely unusual in Marin in December - based on this season's events, FIRESafe MARIN urges Marin residents to take extreme precautions in the coming days.  Strong northerly winds are predicted in the North Bay hills, with very low humidities and unusually low fuel-moistures.  The NWS upgraded this from a Fire Weather Watch to a  RED FLAG WARNING early Friday, based on observed conditions.

What Can I Do to Prepare?

FIRESafe MARIN has developed a 7 step (7-day) guide to quickly preparing your home and family for wildfire, all in less than 1 hour per-day.  We recommend that TODAY you read and complete Day 1: Clean your roof and rain gutters, and Day 5: Now That You're Ready, Get Set! in advance of the predicted fire-weather.

With a National Weather Service warning in place for high winds coming this weekend, Marin County Fire Department Chief Jason Weber has indefinitely suspended open burning in Marin County.

“We are suspending open burning because of predicted fire weather, the lack of precipitation, and unusually dry fuel conditions for this time of year,” Weber said on December 14. “This directive will remain in effect until adequate precipitation is received and fuel conditions are moderated.”

FIRESafe MARIN, in cooperation with the Marin County Fire Chiefs Association, has updated our online Wildfire Evacuation Guide with new information and intitial updates from lessons learned during the recent North Bay wildfires.

Learn about:

Friday, February 9, 2018 from 11am - 2 pm, FIRESafe MARIN will host a community workshop to help Marin neighborhoods organize to achieve Firewise USA recognition.  Learn about the benefits and challenges of Firewise recognition for your neighborhood, while preparing a plan to help your community surviive a wildfire.  We'll have representatives from every Marin fire department, land management agencies like MMWD and Open Space, PG&E, and others to help you understand Marin's wildfire risk and develop a plan to address the risk.

The Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program is a process that empowers neighbors to work together in reducing their wildfire risk. Join the growing network of more than 1,028 recognized Firewise communities (12 neighborhoods in Marin!) taking action and ownership in preparing and protecting their homes against the threat of wildfire.   

Multiple wildfires are raging in Southern California as of December 6. A series of Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires have destroyed at least 180 structures, forced thousands to flee and smothered the region with smoke in what officials predicted would be a pitched battle for days.

Here’s what you need to know:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2017 AT 9:00AM

1600 LOS GAMOS DRIVE, SAN RAFAEL
THIRD FLOOR, OES OFFICES

Your preparedness is not someone else's responsibility.  Register for Alert Marin today and prepare in advance for evacuation.

If a wildfire requires evacuation in Marin and time allows, emergency managers will use the "Alert Marin" system to send out notifications by telephone, cellular, VOIP, and text message.  If you live, work or go to school in Marin County, you may register your cell phone or VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone to receive emergency alerts sent by call, text, email, or smartphone application from the County of Marin.