'Fire in Marin' Workshop Set for Sept. 10 in Mill Valley

MILL VALLEY, CA — The city of Mill Valley is encouraging residents to attend the next free "Fire in Marin"workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto in Mill Valley.

Mill Valley resident Katherine Randolph has been teaching the free workshops on fire prevention in Marin for the past eight years, hoping to prevent a catastrophic fire from occurring or at least make homeowners better prepared.

At the Sept. 10 workshop, Randolph will discuss the history of fire in Mill Valley and Marin. In addition to discussing the Oakland Hills fire, she will touch on the Mt. Vision Fire that swept through Inverness in 1995 and the famous 1929 Mill Valley fire that burned 2,500 acres and destroyed 117 homes over three days. Authorities believe if that fire happened today, it would burn approximately 900 homes.

Randolph said the Mill Valley Fire Department is doing everything it can to protect residents from a major fire, but that residents themselves must do more. Pre-registration for the "Fire in Marin" workshop is strongly recommended. To register, email FireinMarin@comcast.net or call 415-269-6836 and leave your name, phone number and email address.

"The Fire Department keeps saying to us as homeowners that we're at risk and that we need to take action, and we say, 'Yeah, yeah,'" Randolph said. "My purpose is to change the way we think about vegetation and fire in Marin and to get homeowners to take action."

That action should be focused on three specific areas, each of which Randolph will cover in the workshop:
creating defensible space, "hardening" your home and having an evacuation plan.

Randolph said her workshop will focus on ways to create attractive landscaping that adheres to defensible space guidelines but does not leave property looking barren.

"One of the biggest obstacles," she said, "is that Mill Valley is surrounded by a much higher density of vegetation than is normal for the area because of the spread of non-native species."

As for hardening a home, Randolph says that can be done in a variety of ways — from replacing wood shingle roofs and covering vent openings with metal mesh, to installing dual-pane windows.

And because of the speed at which a fire can spread, residents should be ready to leave at a moment's notice. That means creating an evacuation plan checklist, creating an emergency supply kit and going through a series of emergency preparedness.

City officials say residents may call the Mill Valley Fire Department at 415-389-4130 with any questions about disaster preparation, first aid or city services.

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