www.montereycountynow.com MARCH 6-12, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 As evidenced by the number of attendees at a community event called Wildfire Ready, wildfire is at the forefront of many Monterey County residents and local leaders’ minds. The concerns, while not sparked solely by the wildfires in Los Angeles in January, were certainly exacerbated by it. The town hall event on Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Monterey Conference Center drew roughly 450 community members to discuss two main questions: How prepared are you? And how prepared are we—across local, state and federal agencies? “You are the help until help arrives,” Kelsey Scanlon, director of the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management, reiterated during a panel discussion. The panel featured Monterey Fire Chief Andrew Miller, Monterey Police Chief Dave Hober, fuels mitigation specialist Jen Valtz, and representatives from PG&E, Cal Am, Cal Fire and the California Department of Insurance. While officials assured residents that resources exist, they stressed the importance of individual responsibility in reducing wildfire risk. One of the more effective and cost-efficient measures is creating defensible space—clearing debris and flammable materials around homes. The Monterey Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division will conduct annual property inspections in June for properties in the cities of Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel and Sand City, offering recommendations for improving fire safety based on defensible space principles. In addition, the Monterey Firefighters Community Foundation has announced a new defensible space grant program for 2025 that will directly fund safety improvements for residents in these areas. Beyond the Peninsula, efforts are expanding. Across the county, there are 54 Firewise communities—neighborhood-specific groups working together on fire mitigation. At a meeting of the Big Sur MultiAgency Advisory Council on Friday, Feb. 28, Big Sur Fire Chief Matt Harris announced a fully funded, two-year program—backed by an anonymous donor—to enhance local wildfire response. The program will employ 21 full-time people, including wildland firefighters, to focus on defensible space within 30 feet of private properties. And in the Cypress Fire Protection District serving the mouth of Carmel Valley, Cal Fire plans to conduct prescribed burns—pending weather conditions—throughout March and April. These controlled burns, the first for the district, will clear dead and dry vegetation that could fuel wildfires. “The biggest thing we have is California’s Office of Emergency Services master mutual aid fund,” Miller, the Monterey fire chief, said during the Monterey town hall. “It’s comprehensive and robust. All firefighters are trained the same way, operate under the same safety command system, and use the same communication network. That fire engine out there today was in the Palisades that night, and guess what? We have that same tool to use here.” Burning Questions Wildfire risk and mitigation efforts are top of mind for residents and leaders across the county. By Katie Rodriguez Firefighters work to protect a home during the 2016 Soberanes Fire. Emergency officials encourage everyone to sign up to receive alerts and evacuation notices at ReadyMontereyCounty.org. NEWS “You are the help until help arrives.” NIC COURY
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