The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approved an emergency plan on Tuesday to protect the Russian River from debris from the dangerous Hopkins fire. Security threats" express serious concerns.

“Particularly worrying are the 10 residential properties on Calpera Road in the Eastern District, close to where the fire started,” said Travis Kilmer, the county’s disaster recovery site operations coordinator, who had to be allocated to the public Call the board within the expressed time to remind the board that the item is not on the agenda of the October 19 meeting.

"These properties directly adjacent to the Russian River pose a public health and safety threat that cannot be ignored. At present, no work has been done on any of these features to mitigate hazardous materials, pollutants or mudslides (and) protect watersheds and dependent gates. Hundreds of thousands of household water user counties that draw water from the Dorsino, Sonoma, and Marin Rivers."

After the Hopkins fire (which began on September 12 by a suspected arsonist) destroyed dozens of houses in Calpera, Kilmer said the county hired the survey company LACO Associates to perform “geological tests on burn scars”. "Analysis" and "direct" the 10 destroyed houses next to the Russian River" were identified as a top priority.

"So today, we want to make a cost estimate for the area where burn scars are most urgent; this is called the first phase of the Hopkins Fire Basin Protection Project. He described the proposed project as "acquisition and installation of 1,300 feet of straw mats" And 965 feet of stockings", the staff hopes to hire local California protection team staff to install under the supervision of LACO Associates.

Killmer stated that the expected cost of the first phase is US$48,000, which includes purchasing materials, paying 14 CCC staff a cost of US$28 per person per hour, and paying LACO US$12,300 for “technical expertise and supervision”. Killmer added that the Ukiah-based CCC staff “will carry out the installation on Thursday and Friday, and the installation may be completed within 15 hours.”

When asked how the project will be funded, Kilmer said that his department has been working with state agencies such as Cal OES (California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services) and DWR (California Department of Water Resources), “trying to find a Solutions to protect Russian river basins and hundreds of thousands of household water users who depend on rivers in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties for water. We held an emergency meeting on Monday but did not propose a solution. Cal OES notified after the meeting We, they will not be able to help us without the decision of the State Public Notice Office.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to operate according to Sacramento’s schedule,” Killmer continued, and Deputy CEO Darcie Antle explained that the funding for the project “will come from (the county’s) disaster recovery fund,” because There are currently no state or federal funding commitments for this project.

The board subsequently voted unanimously to approve the employees to implement the first phase of the project.

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