A passerby
would have assumed that a huge emergency must have been unfolding at the San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) new Sunol Yard on May 30th. No less than five separate fire department
units were on scene, sharing space with Alameda and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s
vehicles, California Highway Patrol, and even the East Bay Regional Park
District’s Police helicopter.
Thankfully,
this was merely the East Bay First Responder Liaison Lunch hosted by the SFPUC’s
Natural Resources and Lands Management Division each year. More than 70
representatives from all swaths of local law enforcement kindly set aside two
hours of their time for coordination and planning for fire season.
The SFPUC
owns 35,000 acres of watershed lands in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties.
Managed by Natural Resources and Lands Management staff, these lands house
water infrastructure that is crucial to the drinking water supply of our 2.7
million customers, including two drinking water reservoirs, pump stations,
pipelines, and tunnels. These lands have been protected from development as
drinking water sources, which also makes them vulnerable to trespass, criminal
activity, and fire.
Alameda County Sheriff Ahern, Cal Fire’s Mike Marcucci,
and SFPUC's Neal Fujita discuss the specific roles played by first responders and SFPUC during a fire.
It is important
that our staff meet these first responding agencies before an emergency. Thus,
the Liaison Lunches were born. Over home-made tri-tip and salad, first
responders meet SFPUC staff and become familiar with the watershed and the location
of entry roads and gates. The goal: to plan for the inevitable eventuality of a
fire on or near our watershed.
“Whatever
the scale, we will have emergencies again this year on the watersheds – but
we’re better prepared because of the hard work to prepare for these gatherings.”
said Tim Ramirez, Director of the Natural Resources and Lands Management
Division.
We would
like to thank our First Responders for being such tremendous partners in
keeping our watershed lands and our communities safe. Thank you for your
service!
Alameda
County Fire Department
Alameda
County Sherriff’s Office
Cal Fire
California
Department of Fish and Game
California
Highway Patrol
East Bay Regional
Park District
Fremont Fire
Department
Livermore-Pleasanton
Fire Department
Santa Clara
County Fire Department
Santa Clara
County Sherriff’s office
Spring
Valley Fire Department
Be Safe Out
there! See you around the Valley!
