May 16, 2022 - In reading recent letters in support of our current District 1 Supervisor Smallcombe I was beginning to wonder if she should be sainted rather than retired. So I researched.
Has Supervisor Smallcombe’s working with the state government and the activist group positively impacted Mariposa’s fire rating or insurance rates? No. The Bill she helped promote just prohibits insurance companies from dropping their existing customers for one year after a claim(in fire areas). They can, however, raise their rates. Most of us are already in the CA Fair Plan(an insurance pool that was started in 1968 for those unable to get other insurance)so essentially it did nothing for us. Also, the new analytics being introduced for better fire danger assessment (mentioned in the Bill)target urban interface, not rural. So, if you have vegetation near your home, but none for the next 200’ past that, you are not considered fire-safe….because they are focused on what is close-in such as in an urban environment. That point should have been addressed.
Supervisor Smallcombe has been praised for her spending grant monies on fire prevention. To clarify, the staff actually applies for grant monies and the board together allocates their spending; a single member doesn’t have that power. Yet with all that spending, why are our insurance rates high and rising? Answer: Fuel load. Cal-Fire charts the fuel load in our county which translates to high fire risk. There was even an article in Zerohedge late last year, written by an analytics company, that rated the 39 most popular “Zoom Towns” west of the Rockies according to fire danger. Mariposa won first place, a dubious distinction. So, no, the fuel load has not been reduced enough to make a difference.
Supervisor Smallcombe proudly led the Tree Mortality Task Force which hired an out-of-state company to remove dead trees primarily along roadways. Why were our local companies not hired, and why are dead trees still considered the problem when they are actually just the result? The dead trees are not particularly flammable, no bark, sap, needles or branches pretty quickly after they die…I see them STILL STANDING in the footprint of the 2018 Ferguson Fire. It is the thickets of shrubs such as manzanita and buckbrush that steal the rainwater before the trees can get it, dehydrating the trees so they cannot make enough sap to fight off the bark beetles, which kills them. These highly flammable shrubs, which do not decompose after they die but remain a fire danger forever, are the fuel load.
Shouldn’t reducing this fuel load, this ONE THING, be our highest priority? I believe it’s time to add a supervisor to our board with a different approach to assessing and solving problems who can positively impact our situation. Greg Royse has pertinent experience concerning tree health from successfully managing a 4,000 acre sustainable-yield tree farm, giving him keen insight into this most pressing issue. He has valuable experience both in fire fighting and fuel load mitigation tactics. He’s a hands-on guy who can communicate effectively with crews as well as Cal-Fire management. He believes in hiring locally and spending our dollars to get the most benefit. Let’s stop doing the same things again and again hoping for different results. Greg Royse is my choice!
Katee Owens
Mariposa, CA
