San Rafael, CA – As it provided relief in its temporary wildfire evacuation shelter, the County of Marin received so many donations of supplies from agencies and private parties that it had to ask the generous donors to hold off and think about making donations in the weeks and months to come.
County employees prepare to help wildfire evacuees at Marin Center. The County of Marin spent October 9 actively assisting nearby counties as it monitored news of the wildfires that were ravaging its neighbors to the north and east. No areas of Marin County were under evacuation orders.
At about midday, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office opened the overnight shelter at the Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, and evacuees flowed in from Sonoma County and Napa County. About 675 people had been served there by dinnertime.
Hundreds offered to volunteer to assist displaced fire victims. At this time, no more volunteers are needed at Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, but those eager to help are encouraged to visit the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership’s website at volunteer.cvnl.org to register as a disaster service worker.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that residents remain indoors as much as possible and outdoor activities are limited for as long as the fires burn. Wildfires smoke can be harmful, and children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with preexisting respiratory and heart conditions may be more likely to get sick if they breathe in wildfire smoke. For more information about protecting yourself from wildfire smoke, see the Center for Disease Control’s webpage about wildfire smoke.
For information on Napa and Sonoma fire evacuation centers, call 2-1-1. For road closure information call 2-1-1 or visit Caltrans website map at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov.
The Marin County Fire Department reported no fires in Marin County on October 9, but 125 firefighters from various Marin agencies were dispatched to at least three Sonoma County incidents on October 9, according to Battalion Chief Bret McTigue. Marin County Fire had assumed management of the Highway 37 fire in the hills near Sears Point Raceway. As of 6:30 p.m., that fire had reached 1,916 acres and was 15 percent contained. Upwards of 60 structures were threatened to the northwest of the racetrack.
Marin County Fire Deputy Chief Mark Brown served as incident commander for the Nuns Fire, just north of the Sonoma County community of Glen Ellen. Other crews were working at the Atlas Fire near Yountville in Napa County. All Marin County Fire personnel were on duty, either at Marin stations or providing mutual aid to Sonoma and Napa counties, McTigue said.