Editor:
There has been much talk lately about the dangers of wildfires, how to prevent fires, how to fireproof our homes and properties from fires and how to prepare ourselves to evacuate with our “grab and go” bags.
What we have not heard about, is the plan to “fireproof” the campground in Roberts Creek which is situated just above us. In the perilous drought conditions we have experienced over the past several years, we have not seen one effort to keep the campground from becoming a tinder box, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
Each spring, the campground is cleaned and prepped for the summer visitors by taking down danger trees, and clearing the roadways and campsites of the debris that has fallen during the winter storms. The trees are left mostly where they fall unless they cover a camp site or the road itself. The clearing is accomplished by using leaf blowers to blow the debris into giant piles of brush along the side of the road where it takes on the appearance of enormous burn pile just ready to be ignited.
If a fire were to be sparked by a smouldering cigarette butt, a spark from a campfire or a lightning strike, the forest above us would go up instantly. There would be no time for evacuation warnings, or orders, we would be engulfed. No time to set up sprinklers or grab much of anything.
I am at a loss to understand why this situation has been ignored for so long and disappointed at how difficult it is to find the “right” person to talk to. It seems that no one is responsible for overseeing what I believe to be a serious fire hazard in our community.
Helen Halet, Roberts Creek
