This is an update on progress since the December 17th East End community meeting at Monica Ros School that convened in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire. You are receiving this update either because you provided your email at the meeting or your email subsequently was provided by a friend or neighbor so you are aware of this neighborhood initiative.  At the community meeting, East End residents expressed strong support for developing a detailed, well-conceived neighborhood emergency preparedness plan (or “NEPP”) in the event of natural crises such as fires, flooding, landslides, and earthquakes. Notes summarizing the meeting can be viewed at the link below if you weren’t on our email list when they were previously circulated.

One of the suggestions at the community meeting was to form an East End neighborhood organization with a primary mission of developing a NEPP.  To that end a group of volunteers is working to establish such an organization in the coming few weeks, provisionally named the “East End Neighborhood Association.” Once this organization is formally established, the NEPP development process can commence in earnest. Realistically, it will take some months before a thorough NEPP can be finalized, even though, of course, a natural disaster could affect the East End in the interim.

Given the recent tragedy in Montecito, many East End residents have expressed concern about the near term risk of flooding and debris flows in the wake of the Thomas Fire.  At the December meeting Chief McNeil of the Ventura County Fire Department particularly cautioned us to be prepared for these, together with the likelihood that they might isolate the Valley for periods of time this winter.  The recent article from the Ojai Valley News as well as the debris flow risk map at the links below both suggest that East End residents should be mindful of the risks of flooding and debris flow and should be prepared to take emergency action.

At a minimum, residents should seriously consider the following emergency preparations:

• www.readyventuracounty.org:  This is the Ventura County website where official communications are posted. East End residents should sign up here for VC Alert by email, phone, and text alerts so you will be notified and can take immediate action in the event of evacuation alerts.
• http://vcfd.org/images/ready-set-go/RSG_Flood-Preparation_web.pdf: This handbook offers a comprehensive guide for preparing your household for floods.
• https://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit: This is a very helpful checklist for assembling an emergency kit to maintain in the event of a disaster.

We look forward to continuing to update you on progress in furthering the emergency preparedness goals for the East End expressed at the community meeting. Please forward this email to other End End residents who may not yet be on our mailing list. If you would like to be added to our mailing list or have other thoughts or questions, please contact George Gaines at [email protected] or (847) 962.8922.