I opened my email to find a nice communication from Toby Rowland-Jones, a Partington Ridge resident, whom I openly worried about early-on in this 'blog. Toby's a Big Sur Volunteer Firefighter in Big Sur and saw front-line action in the blazes there. Toby speaks about some of the very topics that we have been discussing, recently.
Here's what he has to say:
Hello Kelly:
What a fabulous and detailed site! Over and above what this means for the locals in the fire line, this is exquisitely informative.
Thank you, as always, for your keen intuition and what you do for your community. The more information and truth that comes out about how people are (mis)treated in times such as this, when all it takes is a sensible and level-headed approach to evacuations would save so much time and energy, will be greatly appreciated.
As we discussed, hopefully some meetings and clearing of the air between citizens and law enforcement will be so invaluable.
Yes, we've seen some outrageous behavior from MoCo Sheriffs here in Big Sur, even to those, like me, who are firefighters and responsible members of the community. I am saddened to hear from a few involved, that this egregious and reactionary behavior is happening in your neck of the woods. Surely, they would have learned that bullying tactics (especially when they know nothing about fire behavior) are not appreciated, welcomed or safe.
I hope the Cachagua firefighters are being put to good use. Knowing their own backyard will be vital in saving properties and will ultimately benefit the community as a whole. Plus, you can have no idea how much visiting firefighters appreciate local knowledge of micro-climates, topography and the ins and outs of the local properties/ranches, etc.
My thoughts and prayers are with your beautiful community, and please let me know what I can do!
All the very best,
Toby
Big Sur
Thanks, Toby for all the work you did to save your community!
If local folks - Cachagua Fire, for example - performed the evacuation security functions that have been assigned to people who are not from the community, then I think much of this upset and confusion could have been avoided.
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4 comments:
During the Kirk Complex fire (I was living in Cachagua) I ended up as "liaison" between the fed fire and locals. I went to base camp, was given lots of reports and maps, posted them around town, was available for questions, attended meetings (at base camp and in Cachagua)and helped the fed fire get to know their way around the area and the folks.
Don't they have this now? I see today (news articles online) that they now are telling why the evacuations need to happen. That information must have been known some days ago...why wasn't it shared with the people facing the evac? I don't get it!
I agree that if CFC was in charge of evacuation checkpoints that things would have gone much smoother. But, I don't think we should be using valuable fire resources (CFC) to be babysitters at checkpoints. Cachagua Fire lists 20 volunteer firefighters on their web page. I'd rather have these guys/gals out there attending to medical emergencies and fires, like they have been trained for. If someone has a heart attack in Jamesburg, it's one of these 20 people who is going to save your life. CFC is a valuable resource that has been stretched to its limits. Let's not add more responsibilities to all that they do. Please support CFC by buying their Basin Complex fire shirts or by sending in your donation.
links to the news articles that have the justifications for evacuation? I would like to read them but am operating on a limited power source and need to conserve energy. Y'know folks, Executive Order 9066 was obstensibly to protect and keep Japanese American citizens safe during WWII, but if you lookk at the fences at the concentration camps, I mean relocation centers, they were built to keep people in not out.
Inside the Evacuation Zone Meeting Update:
Folks, there are now between 10 and 30 residents inside the evacuation zone that may come to a meeting to share information on how the mandatory evacuation is affecting them, and to get fire information form which they have been cut off now that they cannot travel to the public meetings any longer and InciWeb has been down for over a day now.
No one will come to the meeting w/o a guarantee they will not be dragged out of the evacuation zone and not allowed to return home. So far, we have not been able to get this guarantee. I am working w/ the Sheriff office, and there are a few folks there that are really trying to help us.
As soon as I get this, I will post a meeting notice and make calls to those w/ phone #'s.
If you are inside the mandatory evac zone and with to be notified of the meeting, you can contact me at http://www.carmellavender.com/contacts.htm
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