10/14/2026
🔥A Story from the Feliz Fire:
It's all about being prepared ahead of time! The successful outcome of the 872-acre Feliz Fire near Hopland in August (zero lives or homes lost, and containment west of Hwy 101) was thanks to prepared, quick, and effective action by our local fire districts, including those from neighboring counties, and CAL FIRE.
But great neighborhood preparedness – creating a Firewise Community, developing an alternate evacuation route, holding a neighborhood Evacuation Game event, doing residential fuel reduction (which allowed firefighters to focus more on the fire than on protecting homes), and promoting evacuation readiness – also played a very important role when the fire came close.
“In an emergency,” says Bernadette Byrne, "your brain kind of flatlines and you're in a total fight or flight (mode)." The blogpost linked below gives a firsthand example of how to avoid panic paralysis when a wildfire is approaching.
🔗Click the link to read the Feliz Fire blogpost: https://www.firesafemendocino.org/the-latest/when-the-feliz-fire-came-feliz-creek-neighbors-knew-what-to-do
