Contra Costa County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
• Agency Response
Wildfire Preparedness in Contra Costa County*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 8 findings
F1
During a Red Flag Warning, fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County often deploy pre-positioned firefighting strike teams to maximize the ability to respond to wildfires. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County require property owners to perform weed abatement on their property to reduce the risk of fire spread. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Board of Directors of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District, Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District, and San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District should consider identifying funds to adopt or expand the use of new technologies, such as ground sensors, drones, satellites, and fire spotting cameras, to help detect fires in high-risk areas, by June 30, 2021. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this recommendation. The recommendation has been implemented. Cameras have been installed and actively utilized within the District for prescribed fires, and used in a series of small and large fires that have broken out in the County over the last several weeks. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District has implemented ground-based sensors. The existing technology was unable to produce the Sub-GHz radius and, as a result, are very ineffective at the 2.4 GHz range inside foliage. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District continues to work with several agencies on satellites to include successful tests with Planet Labs, Inc. to use the sensors to cue a satellite to detect fire. There is not much advancement to be done with currently available resources. In the near future, as low earth orbit satellites come online, this technology will rapidly advance. Large satellites are currently providing date available by through the State's Fire Clearinghouse that can be accessed at the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC).
F3
Not all fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County use predetermined polygons and routing algorithms in their evacuation plans. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County recommend that residents comply with law enforcement's orders to evacuate during an emergency. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Board of Directors of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District, and Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District should review and consider mechanisms, such as the ordinance passed by the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, that would enable their fire district to recover labor and equipment costs from PG&E for overseeing electrical utility work that presents a high fire risk, by June 30, 2021. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District Board withholds its endorsement of this recommendation until current litigation is resolved. The recommendation requires further analysis. This item is subject of current litigation brought against San Ramon Valley by PG&E. Moraga-Orinda Fire District | 1280 Moraga Way | Moraga, California 94556 | 925.258.4599 | Fax 925.376.1699 | www.mofd.org
F5
Not all fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County use new technologies, such as ground sensors, drones, satellites, and fire spotting cameras, for early detection of fires. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The October 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events disrupted emergency response efforts and communications in Contra Costa County. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Fire districts and fire departments in Contra Costa County are not always informed by PG&E when the utility is performing non-emergency maintenance work that presents a high fire risk during a Red Flag Warning. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
An ordinance passed by the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, requiring PG&E to give advance notice of non-emergency maintenance work that presents a high fire risk, enables the fire district to pre-position a team at the utility worksite and recover labor and equipment costs. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District partially disagrees with this finding. This item is the subject of current litigation brought against San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District by PG&E. While MOFD agrees with the intent, the district intends to monitor the situation pending the resolution of legal challenges. Moraga-Orinda Fire District | 1280 Moraga Way | Moraga, California 94556 | 925.258.4599 | Fax 925.376.1699 | www.mofd.org Contra Costa County Grand Jury Report No. 2007, "Wildfire Preparedness in Contra Costa County"
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.