Fire Threat, Protection, and COPE

 The October 2017 Pocket Fire made it all too clear that we need a permanent bridge at the Asti Crossing.  Fortunately the Summer Bridge was still in place, and Supervisor Gore acted to postpone its removal while the fire threat continued, providing fire fighting access and the needed alternative evacuation route during the fire.  For those of us who were on the east side of the Russian River, we appreciate how close the fire came to coming over the ridge and down onto our homes.  We remain forever thankful to all those involved in fighting the fire and preventing that from happening. 

Here's the fire map and a photo that show how close the fire came to all of our homes: 

The Need for a Permanent Bridge

Despite the Pocket Fire burn and the more recent Kincade Fire burn, the fire load and threat in the areas all around us remain.  The threat is also every bit as severe in the months during which we do not have the Summer Bridge in place.  As the Pocket Fire moved north behind us, it showed the very real possibility that a fire could come down and cut off access to Crocker Road and the First Street Bridge This would leave all those of us south of Crocker Road with no means of escape and no access to firefighters if there is no bridge in place at the Asti Crossing.  

The Pocket Fire made the necessity to have a permanent bridge built for the Asti Crossing totally obvious and mandatory.  Our outstanding Supervisor, James Gore, and the excellent Director of the Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works, Johannes Hoevertsz, agree and have been actively working with us ever since to make it happen. Please go to the Recent News section for the latest update on how the permanent bridge project is progressing.

Here’s an earlier 2014 Press Democrat article pointing out how the opening of the Summer Bridge just hours before a fire broke out at the Crocker Inn prevented it from becoming a far greater threat to the surrounding area:

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/2943870-181/firefighters-credit-asti-bridge-in

Our Local Firefighters

We owe the preservation of our homes during the Pocket Fire to so many, including among others, those with Cal Fire, the Cloverdale and Geyserville Fire Departments, and our very own Highand Fire Brigade.  The Highland Brigade is a group of trained volunteers with a fire truck donated by our Board Member Geoff Peters, all of whom played a key role in helping to stop the fire from coming over the ridge behind us when the other fire fighting forces were committed to dealing with the devastating Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa.  As shown in these photos, they were fighting the fire and cutting fire breaks in the midst of the Pocket Fire flames :

The COPE Program

The mission of the COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) program is to help residents, families, and neighborhoods become better prepared to respond to emergency situations. Following a major disaster, it might be several days before vital services are restored to our Alexander Valley, an area at high risk for a variety of natural and manmade threats: not just the wildfires we have seen, but also earthquakes, floods/winter storms, drought, and landslides. First responders who provide fire and medical services may not be able to meet the immediate demand for these services. Factors such as the scope of the emergency, the number of victims and areas affected, communication failures, and road blockages can prevent our residents from receiving the emergency services we have come to expect at a moment's notice through 911.  The AVCL recognizes that we need to rely upon each other for mutual help in order to meet immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.  To do this, our COPE Program, through neighborhood awareness, fire services coordination, and a community-wide phone messaging service known as One Call Now, will assure that everyone is timely notified of the emergency and that everyone is accounted for. Another goal of COPE is to assure that first responders will have the information they need to quickly better protect you and your property.  

Sonoma County and Supervisor James Gore have been asking neighborhood leaders to help implement this COPE program throughout Gore’s District of Sonoma County.  We have now established our COPE program modeled on the best practices of the similar programs in the County. As more fully described in the March 3, 2019 Update in the Recent News and Developments Section, we recently obtained, with the help of Board Member Geoff Peters, a Wine Country United Way grant of $9,070 that helped us implement the COPE program in our various neighborhoods on the east side of the Russian River. The grant allowed us to obtain the powerful phone tree communications software program called One Call Now which allows for immediate phone, text, and/or email communications to everyone in our neighborhoods in the event of an emergency. With the help of volunteers, we have been seeking to have all of our property owners signed up for this warning system.

We also have the ability, with property owners’ permission, to walk their property with an AVCL secure i-Pad that will “geo-locate” such items as propane tanks, water tanks, out-buildings, fire hydrants, presence of animals, etc. This information, along with owner contact information, will go into Sonoma County confidential digital “fire run” maps to be used by firefighting and police agencies to assist them in more quickly and effectively dealing with any fire or other emergencies. Hard copies of the information will also be assembled in confidential binders which will be placed in Knox Boxes at the entrance of each of our neighborhoods, accessible only by fire fighting and emergency personnel. These binders will assure that the needed information to defend our neighborhoods and their residents are immediately available to any emergency responder arriving in our area. It will be particularly helpful if out-of-area fire fighters happen to be the first on the scene. The United Way grant will also cover the cost of these Knox Box installations.

We can still use volunteers to help to get others in their immediate area signed up. If you can help, please email Cecile Peters (cpeters@gpeters.net) and Steve Johnson (steve@alexvalley.org).

We trust that all of you share our desire to be better prepared for any emergency, particularly during the most critical months of the fire season.  This COPE Program is a key initiative of our Alexander Valley Citizens League which we hope you will support and help us get fully into place. 

A Permanent Bridge is our First Priority

While we are moving forward implementing the COPE program, the most critical of our safety initiatives remains the construction of a permanent bridge at the Asti Crossing to provide us with an alternate escape route in the event of a serious fire or other emergency and to assure better year-round access for first responders.  By becoming Members of the AVCL, you will show your support for this essential effort. 

Please Sign Up:

If you haven’t already signed up as a Member, please do. We also urge you to get word out to others to join with us. It is easy to do and free. Just go to the Membership Section on this site: alexvalley.org. and click on the sign-up link. The form is simple and our basic Membership is free.