Fire on the Mountain—a Wake Up Call that Could Save Lives
The Marin Watershed has seen several small fires in the past month. These ignitions were all controlled without extensive damage but they do provide a wake-up call for the community that could save lives. While Marin Water’s historic management of the watershed has been exemplary, it also needs to evolve to meet both changing climate and development patterns.
Over 100 years ago, Marin Municipal Water District was formed as the very first “special district” in the State of California. The formation of the district was a victory for public water and the end of the private interests that previously controlled Marin’s municipal water sources.
Integral to the formation of the district was the acquisition of the Mt. Tamalpais watershed, which contains the pristine upper reaches of Lagunitas Creek. The voters of Marin County passed a bond measure to acquire these lands from the private water companies that had long monopolized water utility service in Marin. Marin voters approved the measure to both protect the 21,000 acre Mt. Tam watershed for water supply and a public park.
In recent years, the scope of Marin Water’s watershed Mt. Tam stewardship responsibilities have vastly expanded. Our duties now include habitat protection and restoration for the unique and protected species that live in the region, study and implementation of new ways to reduce invasive species and fire fuel reduction to protect the watershed from the devastation of wildfire. Wildfire will not only destroy fauna and flora, it could also imperil our water supply with by deposition of ash and erosion into our reservoirs.
In response to that responsibility, Marin Water undertook an extensive study of vegetation management and fire fuel reduction. The final study, the Biodiversity, Fire, and Fuels Integrated Plan (BFFIP), is a living document that provides an “adaptive management” framework for fire safety in a world evolving with the impact of urbanization and climate change.
Among its many path-breaking approaches, the BFFIP eliminates the use of toxic herbicides to control invasive Scotch and French broom, star thistle and other undesirable species. The final BFFIP is reviewed and modified on a yearly basis to address the changing conditions and knowledge base used to manage our watershed. Watershed BFFIP FY 2021 Report
In addition to its vegetation management duties, Marin Water also monitors the watershed for fire ignitions. With climate change, these ignitions can quickly grow into serious fires depending on wind and fire fuel conditions. I believe that Marin Water and its watershed partners should consider some approaches which may improve ignition detection time.
Marin Water relies upon the Marin County Fire Department to provide primary fire fighting capacity. However, our rangers remain the front line of fire protection. While the rangers excel in this area, I believe their response efforts could be boosted with a specialized wildland fire response vehicle. These vehicles have a larger capacity water tank and a more advanced delivery system. Such a piece of equipment would give our rangers a better tool to respond to a fire or ignition event.
Marin Water should also acquire a comprehensive survey of cell coverage in the watershed. Not only is cellular data collection a vital tool for reporting fires, such data can be used for Recreation Plan, visitor counts, rescues, etc. Marin Water leases numerous cell sites in the watershed and those companies may have the data we need to get this done. This may allow us to install a dedicated emergency call channel for the watershed.
It’s probably also time for all of the land management agencies on Mount Tamalpais to work together to ensure that the fire watch tower on the East Peak is staffed 24/7 during our ever expanding fire season. While PGE has high tech smoke detectors in place, vigilant human observation can often spot and locate an ignition quickly and efficiently. We also need to integrate the data generated by PGE into our dispatch and communications systems.
It’s also worth exploring formation of a citizens fire reporting brigade that would be trained how to immediately report a fire ignitions with their cell phones. Such a program could help reduce delays in spotting ignitions quickly which is so critical in controlling them. Installation of instructional signs during fire season may also give visitors the wherewithal to report fires promptly.
Lastly, for over twenty years Marin Water has partnered with local fire agencies in the successful Fire Flow Improvement Program. This program has addressed fire flow deficient hydrants in Marin’s many far-flung neighborhoods that are served by our district. Fire flow improvements need to be monitored and addressed on an ongoing basis. This continuing work reflects the importance of preparation and vigilance to protect our watershed and the surrounding community from wildfire. In the end, our investments in safety will pay for themselves many times over.
