Resources and Information Sources about the North Bay Fires

Our thoughts are with all those affected by the North Bay fires in Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino Counties.

Several fires are currently burning in Sonoma County, in both urban and rural areas. There is smoke from fires in Northern California throughout all of the Bay Area, including Sea Ranch. However it is important to know, there are no fires in The Sea Ranch. 

This photo taken October 11 shows the plums of smoke drifting west. Point Arena – the Point Arena Stornetta Lands, about 25 miles north of The Sea Ranch, is located at the coast in the middle of the smoke.  The top plume in the image shows the Redwood Valley Fire while the lower plume of smoke is from Santa Rosa Fires. You’ll note the whiter area at the bottom of the image actually is fog in Monterey.

The fires are mainly in eastern Sonoma County – parts of Sonoma Valley and Santa Rosa. The fires and fire damage isn’t spread throughout the entire county. Sonoma County is very large – more than one million acres in size.

The majority of Sonoma County businesses remain open. Please call to verify their status.

If you are planning a visit later in October and beyond – please check the resources below to find updates. I will update as I learn of more information.



Do be sure you check for any possible road closures before you depart for your trip at roadconditions.sonoma-county.org. You can also view a map of the Sonoma County Road Closures here.

Also, if you are flying into airports in Northern California check your air carrier for any delays or cancellations due to smoke.

We are certain the North Bay will be ready to welcome you and we are thankful for your business.

Resources and Information about North Bay Fires

LOCAL TO SEA RANCH:

Action Network’s Emergency Communications Center in Gualala is officially open. If you are in need of landline services, internet, or fax, please come to the Action Network offices at Cypress Village – 39144 Ocean Dr, Gualala, CA from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday until further notice. – Nosotros hablamos español. Por favor llama 884-5414.

COMMUNICATION

We are very happy to announce that many of the cellular-services sites that were damaged or knocked out by the North Bay fires have come back online.

Abalone Bay’s communication systems are working.  We provide landline service. While our communication services are not affected, please note there have always been some cell-service dead zones in our area.

OFF THE GRID APPS FOR COMMUNICATION

Should you find yourself in an area or situation without cell phone service, we recommend you download an  ‘Off-the-grid’ chat messenger app that works even without internet connection or 2G, 3G, or 4G network coverage. These apps, also known as “Mesh Network chat,” allow you to communicate with each other within a range of up to 100 – 200 meters. It works by broadcasting your encrypted data via the WiFi or bluetooth. If there is no direct connection between A and C, the app will bounce the message from A to B to C. In short, it is a P2P (peer to peer) software without a central server like WhatsApp, Line, WeChat and Facebook Message.  These chat apps can also be used as a walkie talkie.

SOURCES FOR UPDATES

Below is a list of websites that provide current updates about the fires and evacuations for visitors to Sonoma and Mendocino Counties:

Sonoma County Tourism-Fire: http://www.sonomacounty.com/fire 
and for Press Releases: http://www.sonomacounty.com/press-releases

Sonoma Sheriff or Mendocino Sheriff Facebook pages for fire updates. They have listed the phone number for fire updates as (707) 467-6428.

Sonoma Fire Ino: www.sonomafireinfo.com This is a volunteer group that is collecting, aggregating and verifying information about the fires.

Nixle services: A local area alert system: http://www.nixle.com/

Facbook’s Crises Hub: Facebook’s Safety Check is a feature of the Crisis Hub that lets Facebook users tell friends and family members they’re safe during natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other life-threatening incidents. The center also contain a mix of public Facebook posts, news articles, photos, and videos to keep people informed and up to date on a given crisis. Other additions include the Community Help tool. Use the search tool to locate the crisis page for a particular fire area.

Newspaper Updates: Press Democrat, the county’s local news source provides a listing of useful information about the fires

DONATIONS

If you are looking for ways to help North Bay fire victims, USAID recommends giving cash donations instead of donating goods or clothing. “Disaster situations evolve quickly and cash contributions enable relief agencies to purchase exactly what is needed, when it’s needed, and to respond to new requirements as they arise.”

Cash donations are preferred and accepted at the evacuation centers for the North Bay fires. For a full list of locations, go to Sonoma County’s web site and look for Emergency Center updates.

GoFundMe has a list of VERIFIED ACCOUNTS for families and organizations affected by the California fires.

Red Cross: There are specific options for giving directly to the organization’s fires fund or to your nearest local Red Cross.

Sonoma County Resilience Fund:.The Community Foundation Sonoma County has launched the Sonoma County Resilience Fund to address the mid to long-term recovery needs of our community. To learn about more ways to give contact J Mullineaux: jmullineaux@sonomacf.org or 707-303-9620.

Redwood Credit Union, in partnership with state Sen. Mike McGuire and The Press Democrat, has established the 2017 North Bay Fire Relief Fund to assist people impacted by the wildfires that have ravaged four counties. The credit union is paying the fund’s administrative costs, allowing all donated funds to directly aid fire victims and relief efforts.

Donate to the Humane Societies and SPCA: As you know, we are pet friendly. Therefore, we have listed how you may support the animals in need

• Humane Society of Sonoma County, 5345 CA-12. (Santa Rosa), sonomahumane.org
• Humane Society of Napa County, 3265 California Blvd. (Napa), napahumane.org
• Yuba-Sutter SPCA, 745 Sutter St. (Yuba), yubasutterspca.org

SHELTER

Unfortunately -we do not have housing available at Sea Ranch Abalone Bay. However, here are other resources:

AirBnB has marked hosts offering available housing. Hosts in the regions marked on their map are opening their homes for free from October 8, 2017 to October 30, 2017 for the following groups:

• Displaced neighbors
•  Relief workers deployed to help

VOLUNTEER

The Red Cross is in immediate need of volunteers to assist evacuees of the North Bay fires. To volunteer, sign up at www.redcross.org. You can also sign up in person at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Rohnert Park, where the Red Cross has set up.

The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership has also been called in to help. If you wish to donate or volunteer, you can register on their website at https://cvnl.org.

Grief and Crisis Counselors: Trained counselors are needed at Sonoma Valley High School. If you are licensed and able to help, call 707-888-5863.