MENDOCINO Co., 7/12/20 — Senator Mike McGuire hosted a virtual town hall Tuesday evening with local officials from Mendo and Lake Co. about wildfire preparedness.
The town hall was held over telephone with Cal Fire Mendocino Unit Chief George Gonzalez, Mendocino County Sheriff Matthew Kendall, Cal Fire Sonoma/Lake/Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones, Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin, and PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program Director Matthew Pender.
McGuire and the panelists updated the public on resources for homeowners, firefighting in the era of the coronavirus, best practices for fire safety, emergency communication, and more. PG&E’s representative talked about the company’s stated plans for grid modernization, hardening, and vegetation management.
They also answered questions from residents about such issues as how fire preparedness has been affected by the pandemic, what PG&E’s plan is for power shutoffs, why there are fewer inmate firefighting crews, how new weather cameras are working, and how social distancing can be maintained during evacuations, among many other topics.
Here’s a full recording of the town hall, which was live streamed on the Mendocino Voice Facebook page.
