Marin Voice: MMWD can do more to prevent fires on watershed land

Lest we forget about the wildland fire last June at Bon Tempe Lake — despite the recent deluges, communities adjacent to the Mount Tamalpais watershed must not become complacent with regard to the fire danger that will surely reemerge a few months from now.

The trees that were dead then are still dead, and all it will take is a few days of triple-digit temperatures to dry things out and put us right back where we were with even more fuel to burn at the drop of a careless cigarette butt.

Recently, the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors voted to raise the fines for visitors who are caught smoking in the watershed from $35 to $75 for the first offense. But that is a pitifully small penalty for an offense that could have such major consequences. As was pointed out in the article about the vote in the Marin Independent Journal (“Marin water agency doubles Mt. Tamalpais fire fines,” Dec. 27), Chief Ranger Don Wick agrees that the chances of actually catching and prosecuting offenders are “about nil,” and everyone knows that.

I would therefore suggest the following:

Until ranger staffing can be restored to even a minimally adequate level that could provide the surveillance necessary to prevent and detect future wildfire outbreaks, I strongly urge the MMWD to establish a cadre of 20 or so volunteer “deputy rangers,” consisting of conservation-minded citizens who hike and bike the trails on a regular basis.

They would be supplied with informational pamphlets produced by the MMWD staff to hand out to anyone they encounter who is smoking or has an open fire or flame.

These volunteers would explain the uniquely precarious and dangerous fire risk that exists at the watershed, the past history of what happened last June, as well as the increased fines and vigilance that have been put into effect as a result. The pamphlet could also outline watershed regulations for bikers and dog walkers, as well as grill use and other safety guidelines.

In addition, they should be given a cell phone “hotline” number to call a MMWD ranger for immediate backup if they catch repeat offenders or fisherman, bikers or hikers who are non-cooperative, resentful or angry.

This, of course, would require ensuring comprehensive cell phone coverage for the entire 21,000 acres of the watershed. If that’s not possible, at the very least the coverage should be for all the trails that are currently used by hikers and bikers.

At the moment, the top service providers have minimal to no coverage in the area. This needs to be addressed and fixed immediately. The MMWD directors should make this a top priority to ensure prompt response to a wildfire outbreak.

Finally, MMWD leaders need to initiate an informative signage and public relations campaign regarding fire regulations. Instead of the current bare minimum of sterile, bureaucratic signage that gets lost among the barrage of signs for bathrooms and parking permit information (to name a few examples), there needs to be ubiquitous, effective, eye-catching signs with catchy slogans that appeal to the visitors’ sense of citizenship, stewardship, community and conscience.

For example, they could read, “Your smoking affects more than your health. It’s a hazard for all of us: Don’t do it here.” I suggest the sign include a picture of last June’s blaze.

That fire broke out on a cool, still and relatively humid morning, a mere six hours before 50 mph winds kicked up that afternoon. Wick admitted that Marin dodged a bullet by sheer luck. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to rely on “luck” to save us from disaster in the future.

MMWD’s directors must not allow the recent rains to create a false sense of security that keeps them from doing what’s necessary to mitigate the ongoing wildfire risk that threatens the surrounding communities.

Tom McAfee of Fairfax is a videographer who has worked with the 350Marin and Green Chautauqua climate change action organizations. He also has worked with the Ambassadors of Hope and Opportunity and the Golden Gate Village Resident Council.