Title
Receive a Report on the Monterey County Fire Response and Recovery Program for the 2016 Soberanes and Chimney Fires.
Report
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors receive the report.
SUMMARY:
Monterey County has experienced two major fires this year requiring significant County resources - Soberanes Fire, Chimney Fire. This report begins to identify the impact of these fires on County resources, recognizing that there may likely be subsequent impacts with the beginning of the rain season upon us. The Resource Management Agency (RMA) requested information from other departments to help develop this report.
The Soberanes Fire was started on the morning of July 22nd, 2016 by an illegal campfire along a portion of the Soberanes Creek in Garrapata State Park, Big Sur. In response to rapid spreading of the fire, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services (OES) activated the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) the very next day on the morning of July 23rd. The EOC remained fully activated with staffing from various County Departments until approximately August 31st, at which time the staff level was reduced to primarily only OES employees. The timeframe for data in this report is based on OES still working with incident management due to the Soberanes fire remaining active at 97% containment. The fire reached 100% containment October 15. To date, Soberanes is among the most expensive wildfires in United States history with regard to the cost of fighting the fire. To date, 57 homes and 11 outbuildings are known to have been destroyed. Total acreage of the fire as of October 12th, is just over 132,000. Private water systems were also damaged or destroyed which has resulted in loss of clean potable water for residents. Phone systems have yet to be completely repaired throughout the burned communities. Many displaced residents were either under-insured or not insured and as a result have no financial means to rebuild....
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