Fire Upate

I confess I "sat" on this email chain for a while because I was concerned about the applicability of some of the comments regarding clearing around our lots.  The original email is not from within the Seascape Uplands HOA, so please do not take actions outside of what is allowed by our governing documents.  We are in a Salamander Preserve, with special requirements that may not be applicable to those in the originating neighborhood.  That being stated here is an update regarding recent fire concerns.

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Myles Kitchen <myleshkitchen@gmail.com>
To: Carltaylr@aol.com
Cc: pocopam@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 9:09 AM
Subject: Re: Quick Update - Aptos Willow Canyon Fire List

Carl, Pam:

Sorry for the error....

Myles

On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 6:40 AM,  <Carltaylr@aol.com> wrote:
> Good Morning Pam,, I will be meeting Myles this morning as a neighbor and of
> course a person with extensive expeirence with ARC and David Laabs,,, I will
> inform him that I do not represent the BOD as he has indicated in this
> memo,,but simply head of ARC
> He sounds like the right person to deal with this serious issue,,, We need
> to have all of our members aware of this issue and also the land bordering
> Zanzibar on both sides are a real concern,and the land off San Andreas that
> could pose a real threat to this side of the uplands as well. For your
> information the original land planning for the uplands shows a Future Fire
> Station on San Andreas adjacent to uplands drive,,, it would be interesting
> for that to be brought up at our meetings with the Fire Dept and in the
> future with the new supervisor Zack Friend
> Thanks
> Carl
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: myleshkitchen@gmail.com
> To: MylesHKitchen@gmail.com, john@dellapenna.com, Carltaylr@aol.com
> Sent: 8/22/2012 8:02:11 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
> Subj: Quick Update - Aptos Willow Canyon Fire List
>
> Hello all:
>
> Sorry, but I was tied up all last week, and am catching up this week.
> There is some information to report, and will be more soon.  But,
> here's a quick update.
>
> 1.  For those who weren't aware, we had ANOTHER FIRE this past
> Saturday.  This time, it was just across HWY 1, on the Eastern
> hillside between Freedom Blvd and San Andreas, and broke out around
> 1PMish.  As Chief Terpstra explained to us at our last meeting, this
> is within Cal Fire's jurisdiction, and thankfully, they responded
> quickly.  I was in Monterey when it broke out, but my wife Donna was
> here.  She called me as helicopters and planes were dropping fire
> retardant and circling about 100 ft over our house!  As I drove back,
> from Seaside, I could see the smoke plume clearly as it rose straight
> up (thankfully).  It was a serious fire, this time likely started by
> hot embers from a car's catalytic converter spitting out hot embers to
> the dry grass along HWY 1, between San Andreas, directly across from
> us.  It burned about 2 acres, same as the canyon fire, and was handled
> swiftly by a combination of Cal Fire, and Aptos/LaSelva.  THANKS AGAIN
> GUYS!!  But, its another reminder of how vulnerable we all are right
> now, with abundant fuel buildup from  years of neglected fire
> abatement, and the speed at which a fire can travel.  THANKFULLY, no
> embers were blown across HWY 1, or I probably wouldn't be writing this
> to you right now.  This is yet another reminder of how urgent this
> issue is, and how we all need to support efforts for further fire
> abatement, and do our own parts on our own properties.
>
> 2.  Since our meeting, and my last update, I now have approximately 44
> names on our interested homeowners' list, and I hope you'll encourage
> more of your neighbors to email me.  Several Uplands residents have
> also joined (welcome!), including Carl Taylor, who is involved with
> the Uplands BOD, and is addressing their interests relative to the
> canyon and its management.  Please keep spreading the word, and ask
> your neighbors to email me to join this list to stay abreast of
> developments, and support our efforts.  I haven't counted the lots,
> but I know there are additional property owners adjacent to the canyon
> who should have interest.  Please let your neighbors know about this!
>
> 3.  Since the meeting, John Della Penna and I met with County
> Supervisor Ellen Pirie to make her aware of our concerns.  She has
> offered her help, and since our meeting has reached out to Fire Chief
> Terpstra to offer her support.  If needed, we plan to take her up on
> her offer, as may be needed, but she has contacted Chief Terpstra, and
> for the moment, has recommended we work directly with him to support
> fire abatement efforts in the canyon.  As you may be aware, Supervisor
> Pirie is in her last term in office, and the Supervisor elect is Zack
> Friend (starting Jan 1).  At the appropriate time, we will contact
> Supervisor Friend to bring him into our discussions.  The purpose of
> the meeting was to see if Ms. Pirie could assist us in coordination
> with the various agencies now charged with management of the canyon,
> represent our interests as property owners, and help with bringing
> attention to County government that fire abatement here is a priority.
>
> 4.  I am in contact with Chief Terpstra, and we have a meeting
> tomorrow at 10AM with Chief Terpstra to discuss various issues.  The
> Chief has been in contact with the responsible person at the Dept of
> Wildlife, and there is guarded good news, that at least they
> understand our need to maintain a fire abatement perimeter around the
> property, and that MAY be 100 ft from the property boundaries.  It
> remains unclear who can fund such clearing, but it is positive,
> nevertheless.  We will have further discussion about this tomorrow,
> and see if we can jointly work to find funding sources for the
> clearing that is desperately needed at the moment.  Carl Taylor, from
> the Uplands, will also join me in this meeting, and I will report on
> this separately.  We hope to get a) a definitive position from the
> canyon property management that a fire abatement buffer zone is
> necessary and part of their planning, and b) identify a way to
> prioritize this clearing, hopefully ahead of making ponds for
> salamanders (!).
>
> 5.  Once again, if any of you are attorneys, or know of attorneys
> within our perimeter of homeowners, I would welcome any legal guidance
> on these many issues that they might provide for their own, and our,
> benefit.  Please contact me with any info.
>
> 6.  I implore each of you to do what you can to clean your own
> property boundaries, and/or clear space around your homes.  As
> recommended by the County, 30 ft. from structures is necessary, 100
> ft. preferred.  For those of you on El Sereno Ct., and Sonata Lane, I
> will be contacting you separately to discuss what we should do here.
> If you aren't aware, the property boundaries on our streets are
> complex, and the Eucalyptus grove is partially on the open space, and
> partially on property of homeowners on Sonata Lane, and Zanzibar
> Drive.  We should meet collectively to discuss taking some actions
> here for our mutual interest as this area is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS at
> present.  I don't have any information on the Eucalyptus grove near
> Zanzibar further up, but perhaps we'll have more info on that soon.
> It appears that some thinning of that grove has taken place, and I
> consider that good for us all, regardless of who did it.  If you are
> aware of that, please contact me directly.
>
> 7.  FYI, there is a local service known as Dirtworks ( see their video
> at http://www.dirtworktractors.com/brush-cutting.php).  I had a quote
> from them over a year ago to potentially do some clearing along our
> area, and they seemed quite reasonable.  If you have individual needs,
> you might look into their approach to brush clearing (FYI, I have no
> financial interest in this business).  If we collectively have jobs
> for them, perhaps we can get a favorable quote if they worked in our
> area doing various clearing jobs.  If you're interested in this, let
> me know and I will work to coordinate this, as we have a need for them
> here on El Sereno.  Their machine mounted to the front of a Skid Steer
> can clear large brush quickly and efficiently, turning the debris into
> productive, weed inhibiting mulch on site.  Check them out.  If  you
> have info on noteworthy such services, please let me know.
>
> 8.  I plan to update everyone after our meeting tomorrow with Chief
> Terpstra, and we'll set a tenative schedule for another community
> meeting.  I welcome your inputs, and any of you who would like to
> volunteer to assist with this.  Again, please email me.
>
> Regards,
> Myles H. Kitchen
> 915 El Sereno Ct.
> 831 539 8707