Wildfire prevention event takes place in Marin County

Many North Bay residents gathered at the Marin Civic Center Fairgrounds on Saturday for the Ember Stomp Wildfire Prevention Festival.  

The event was geared towards teaching the community about wildfire prevention and how to be prepared before a fire breaks out.  

“I think there certainly is a history here of fire. We know history repeats itself in terms of fire, so we’re trying to interrupt that process and that cycle, and I think our residents really understand that, and they’re making that investment," said Jason Weber, the Marin County Fire Department chief.

Two structures were tested during a live burn demonstration to highlight the importance of having a five-foot non-combustible buffer zone around one’s home. One of the structures was built with fire-resistant materials, and the other without.  

“One of them is wildfire prepared, the other is very typical construction was going to light small fires as if embers had gotten into the neighborhood, and sadly, one of these is going to become a pile of ash, the other is going to be unaffected,” said Anne Cope, chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.   

Meg McCabe of Fire Safe Marin hopes the event will help the community be prepared for a fire.  

It’s “to make sure that if and when and a day comes that Marin is threatened, we are prepared, with our homes hardened and our landscape ready,” she said.