Favorable weather aids firefight in San Mateo, Santa Cruz counties

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton said the conditions allowed firefighters to make progress in battling back the blaze, and expected the weather to provide additional assistance in the coming days.

“There is a lot of good work going on,” said Brunton, who noted the fire fight was aided further by an increase in personnel as well as the availability of helicopters which dumped 200,000 gallons of suppressant on flames Monday.

Cal Fire Assistant Chief Billy See shared a similar perspective.

“It was a good firefighting day for our folks out on the ground,” he said. There are 1,609 firefighters on the scene, up nearly 1,000 crew members from last week when the fire started.

The fire grew to 78,000 acres through portions of southern San Mateo County and northern Santa Cruz County, with 13% containment, according to officials.

The blaze claimed 276 structures, but approximately 25,000 more are threatened and 77,000 people have been evacuated from the region. The body of a 73-year-old man was discovered from Last Chance near Davenport, pushing the state’s fire death toll to seven. Six people needed emergency rescue over the weekend because they returned to their evacuated property without authorization, according to county officials.

To clear the road for those who must evacuate, county officials closed the stretch of Highway 84 west of Highway 35, which was also closed south of the intersection. Portions of Highway 1, Alpine Road, Pescadero Creek Road and other connectors were shuttered as well.

With county park rangers assisting the fire relief effort, county parks were closed last week.

Those looking to donate goods to firefighters are discouraged from sending food or items to sites where crews are staying, and instead to direct their assistance to authorized agencies. Similarly, those looking to help evacuees are encouraged to donate money to the Red Cross or Puente de la Costa Sur emergency fire relief funds.

Unopened packages of diapers, baby formula and school supplies such as backpacks, pens, notebooks, markers, clip boards and small bottles of hand sanitizer are accepted at the San Mateo County Event Center expo hall, 1346 Saratoga Drive, in San Mateo from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The threats posed by the wildfires demonstrate the value of the county’s emergency notification system, which a civil grand jury determined is widely underused, according to a recent report.

The report issued Monday, Aug. 14, claimed only 10% of county residents signed up for the SMC Alert system, which sends emergency notifications via text message, email and phone calls.

Noting the limitations of the system which requires residents to opt in, the report encouraged cities and agencies to ramp up outreach to assure locals are more aware of the program. A special emphasis should be placed on assuring the program is translated and available to communities speaking languages other than English, said the report.

It also urged officials to look into the feasibility of a system which would automatically enroll locals in the program, and give them the chance to opt out if they are not interested.

“The effective, efficient and timely dissemination of accurate, reliable information by local government is imperative in this era of pandemics, major wildfires and other disasters,” said the report. “Well-informed residents are better able to act in a manner that secures everyone’s safety.”

Visit https://hsd.smcsheriff.com/smcalert to sign up for the alert system.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105