St. Helena emergency staff urge residents to prepare as fire season intensifies

Fire and police leaders told the St. Helena City Council on June 23 that wildfire season is active and urged residents to take immediate steps to protect property and lives.

Chief Sorenson emphasized defensible space standards — trimming dead or dying vegetation to 4 inches in the immediate area around structures, maintaining 10-foot clearance between tree canopies and eaves, and wider clearance (up to 150 feet) in the wildland-urban interface. Sorenson described the progressive abatement process the city uses: door hangers, a posted notice to abate, certified letters and, if needed, a public hearing for persistent noncompliance.

"If you come out of your house and you see gutters full of leaves, that's a big problem," Sorenson said, summarizing the hazard that led to numerous structural losses in prior fires.

Lieutenant Tharp outlined the city's evacuation-notification toolkit. He said the city encourages residents to register for the county's Know Your Zone/Genasys alerts (which show zone status by address) and for Everbridge (formerly Nixle) alerts by texting a local ZIP code to 888-7777. In severe incidents, door-to-door checks remain the final step.

Tharp described evacuation tags used by responders to mark cleared residences and urged residents to place tags prominently as they leave to reduce wasted officer time at empty homes. He also announced planned town-hall meetings and full evacuation drills at congregate facilities like Vineyard Valley in coming months.

Staff demonstrated the site-evaluation program that offers free home visits and a certificate for completing defensible-space recommendations. Sorenson said the city provides a short checklist and a free on-site evaluation that can help residents with insurance conversations.

Councilmembers asked whether insurance companies use different wildfire severity maps. Chief Sorenson said the city uses the state Cal Fire map adopted by jurisdictions and that insurers occasionally present alternative assessments; residents who disagree can compare their property on the official map.

Members of the public and volunteers praised the department for outreach but also pressed for coordination on lists of immobile residents and for insurance guidance. Volunteer organizer Mr. Warner urged residents to "drill the plan," saying community preparedness and neighborhood coordination are essential complements to official response.

Council and staff stressed common-sense advice: trust the alerts, do not wait for an official evacuation order if conditions feel unsafe, maintain defensible space and keep a go bag with documents and supplies ready.