Fire, water and broken pot rules
There’s hardly a person in Mendocino County who is not aware of the fact that marijuana cultivation is totally out of control.
There are four people however, Supervisors Gjerde, Williams, Mcgourty, and Mulheren who think that their proposed ordinance that allows unprecedented pot expansion is a fine idea.
Of course, their proposal is being challenged by a referendum that seeks to repeal the entire ordinance.
This county is coming apart at the seams because of the unchecked pot proliferation occurring during declared drought emergencies, town water supplies and private wells going dry, and rampant water thefts and illegal diversions.
On top of these calamities is the reality of what appears to be another record-setting year of catastrophic wildfires.
I want to talk about fire and water and people who aren’t getting the message regarding how those two things are related to the difficulties of operating a municipal water utility during these times and circumstances. Here’s a quick look at recent events occurring with the Laytonville County Water District.
On my KPFN program last Saturday, Lauren Kaplan who also does a show on the Puffin, called station manager Kevin Marsh shortly before 2 p.m. to report a large column of smoke near the bottom of Bell Springs Road at Highway 101.
Kevin came into the studio with the information and on air I called Laytonville Fire Department Chief Sue Carberry and asked if she was aware of the situation. She said she wasn’t but would get right on it.
Turns out the fire broke out off Bell Springs Road near Foster
Creek Road east of Leggett.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office eventually issued evacuation orders that forced some residents to flee the area.
Firefighters and air support from multiple agencies fought the fire and about 5:30 p.m. the wildfire’s forward progress halted.
Cal Fire Mendocino reported that the fire burned 50 acres all together. The cause is unknown but under investigation.
By 9:25 p.m., all evacuation warnings and orders had been rescinded and residents were allowed to start returning home.
As I write this, on Tuesday night, fire personnel are still mopping up the area, and using water from our District to make sure the fire stays out.
We are fortunate in the Long Valley area to have an aquifer that recharges itself even in times of drought. It’s a natural resource that all of us who work for the Water District know must be protected, safeguarded and watched over ever so carefully. We don’t take our responsibilities lightly.
It’s one of the reasons that the greater Laytonville area that relies on our water, has never been forced to take mandatory water cuts during recent periods of drought.
We have a proven reliable source of water that is properly managed by District employees. All of us who work for the District live here in Laytonville and we’re not about to shirk our responsibilities and not do our jobs when it comes to protecting this vital resource.
But we need help in doing our jobs from District customers.
For over a month now we have broadcast on the radio, in the newspaper, on social media, with leaflets, and sign boards how important it is for everybody to comply with a rule and regulation that has been in effect since 2016.
That rule forbids watering outdoors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, seven days a week. Customers may water outdoors all they want from 5:01 p.m. to 10:59 a.m.
There are penalties and fines for people who break the rule. But too many people are ignoring the regulation even though there’s a tremendous loss of water during the heat of the day hours of 11 to 5.
This must stop because we are not maintaining safe firefighting levels in our storage tanks.
We are in the peak of wildfire season. On the same day the Bell Springs fire broke out there were two other fires in or near town, that were quickly knocked down. But if any one of those fires had gotten away from firefighters, large amounts of water would very likely have been needed to successfully combat them. If storage tanks are de