CELEBRATE OUR COUNTRY’S INDEPENDENCE DAY – STAY SAFE AND GRATEFUL!
On this holiday weekend let’s remember the leadership, courage, and sacrifices that so many made throughout our nation’s 245-year history – to first establish and then defend our democracy. The Fourth of July commemorates the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation when 56 members of the Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, which gifted our nation independence, self-determination, and the right to dream big. This historic document is still a wonderful read and a way to remember our founding father’s words as they established a new country, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Let’s make this Fourth of July memorable by counting our blessings, truly appreciating our freedom, and celebrating our democracy!
We ask that as you gather with friends and family, please remember that we are in extreme fire danger – be SAFE and remain vigilant for potential ignition points. Let’s keep each other and our communities safe during such a dangerous fire season.
In service,
Cindy Gustafson, District 5 Supervisor
A MESSAGE FROM PLACER COUNTY FIRE CHIEF BRIAN ESTES
A FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT ALL FIREWORKS ARE ILLEGAL IN EASTERN PLACER COUNTY AND ALL OF UNINCORPORATED PLACER COUNTY. ONE LESS SPARK IS ONE LESS WILDFIRE. Help us all stay safe through the fire season. We live in a beautiful, but fire danger critical area – it is ALL our responsibility to ensure we are fire-prepared. [WATCH VIDEO]
Stay safe and have a Happy 4th of July.
Wildfire Update & Resources
2020 was the worst recorded fire season in California history and 2021 is already surpassing it. There’s a huge fire danger increase this year due to the lack of snow and rain, along with high temperatures. On May 1 the snowpack was at 59% of normal and there were no late spring rains. Fire spread predictions are approximately 6 weeks ahead of normal and the fires we’ve had are extremely hot and fast moving. Please SIGN UP FOR PLACER ALERT — it is the single best way to stay informed in an emergency.
PLAN, PREPARE, STAY AWARE + EVACUATION
Be prepared, know your evacuation routes, and listen to law enforcement! Please remember evacuations are a very coordinated effort between all law enforcement, fire districts, Caltrans, and our county roads — it’s a significant undertaking and planning between the agencies is extensive. In the event of an evacuation, please remain calm, follow the instructions of the emergency personnel, and have an action plan ready before the fire strikes. Have your kit ready to go for every family member, know at least two ways out of your neighborhood, and remember to check all your apps, alerts and social media pages — officials will constantly be pushing out messages immediately and as fast as they can. Don’t wait for the evacuation order — if you feel threatened, leave — and leave as soon as the evacuation is recommended by any officials. Depending on where the fire is located, law enforcement will determine which evacuation route is best, and officials will be placed in strategic areas to direct people where to go. Please don’t stop to try and ask questions — this will delay everyone’s evacuation — trust they are directing you a safe way to get as many people out as quickly as possible. LEARN MORE
RED FLAG WARNING PROGRAM | The Red Flag Warning Program is a local effort to make residents aware of wildfire risk in our community and is issued by the National Weather Service when conditions combine to produce the possibility of extreme fire behavior. If you see red flags posted at fire stations/government buildings, that is the time to visit readyforwildfire.org. LEARN MORE
HI-LO SIRENS CAN HELP SAVE LIVES | The Placer County Sheriff’s Office released an important PSA regarding hi-low sirens and how they can help keep us safe. The hi-lo siren was installed in patrol units in 2019 to be used during emergency evacuations. The sound is different from the traditional police siren — it will ONLY be used in areas facing danger from a wildfire, chemical spill, flood, etc. LEARN MORE
IMPORTANT WILDFIRE RESOURCES:
- Placer Sierra Fire Safe Council
- Ready for Wildfire webpage
- Homeowner’s checklist
- Defensible space information
- Prepare for quick evacuation
- Build an emergency kit
- Sign up for Placer Alert
Housing Update
As we all know, Eastern Placer County is facing an unprecedented housing crisis and our region is losing long-term rental space at a very alarming rate. Our workforce is being driven out of our community and almost every business in the region has had to adjust hours and services due to lack of staff. We realize that the already critical housing shortage has been exacerbated by the unprecedented surge in values of homes. I am working with our County officials and the Mountain Housing Council partners to do everything we can to ease the situation and keep new workforce housing projects moving forward. With more challenging times ahead we encourage anyone who is willing and able to please consider offering your home or even just a room – whether it’s just for a season, or long-term. It is going to take an entire community effort to help each other through this crisis and rebuild a balanced community.
CURRENT HOUSING PROGRAMS & PROJECTS
The Placer County Housing Goals include increasing the availability and mix housing types, improving the County’s overall employment growth and reducing vehicle miles traveled. Currently, Eastern Placer County has two projects in construction including Meadow View Place in Martis Valley which broke ground in July 2020 with 56 units of workforce housing and Hopkins Village which is currently creating a list of qualified buyers with 40 units of workforce housing. Upcoming development in Eastern Placer County includes Dollar Creek Crossing where the County will be conducting a site study to assist in planning/design development of the site this spring followed by the environmental review starting this summer. Potential future projects include the redevelopment of the Tahoe Inn in Kings Beach and the former Eastern Gateway property in Kings Beach. LEARN MORE
Please join our July 27 Tahoe Board of Supervisors Meeting for more thorough update on housing.
Additional News & Resources
TART CONNECT | FREE CURB-TO-CURB TRANSIT SERVICE
On June 25, I joined the community for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the debut of Tart Connect, a free curb-to-curb transit service in North Lake Tahoe. Now through September 6, Placer County will be offering this service across the North Shore with service zones that include West Shore, Tahoe City, Dollar Point, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Brockway, Crystal Bay, and Incline Village. This free service will offer 8 vehicles that will run daily from 8am to midnight, offering vans that hold up to 9 people as well as bike racks and an ada compliant vehicle available upon request. Request your FREE ride today using the TART Connect App, available for download now! This microtransit pilot program is operated by downtowner and managed by Placer County Department of Public Works, transit division. LEARN MORE
Clean Tahoe is a nonprofit organization based in South Lake Tahoe with a proven track record to assist communities with litter and garbage abatement. Placer County and other neighboring jurisdictions in the region are collectively contributing funding to Clean Tahoe to have them address and clean up litter hotspots. This program will complement the Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal Service, because while they take care of all of our trash, they’re not set up to do the boots on the ground litter patrol. The whole idea here is not to worry about jurisdictional boundaries – when someone from the public sees a problem trash can, it doesn’t matter whose can it is, they can call it up. Clean Tahoe program is scheduled to launch a 1-year pilot trash abatement program for the North Lake Tahoe area on Friday, July 2. LEARN MORE
TEMPORARY SIGNAL AT GROVE STREET
Placer County staff have been working with Caltrans for over a year to get permitting to deploy a temporary signal to improve car and pedestrian safety and control their movements at this high volume intersection. It was finally installed on Wednesday night and became effective July 1, 2021. Caltrans and our staff will monitor traffic conditions to determine how effective it is and whether we want to consider a permanent pedestrian signal. LEARN MORE
COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT EFFORTS FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS (STRS)
Placer County staff have been working with Caltrans for over a year to get permitting to deploy a temporary signal to improve car and pedestrian safety and control their movements at this high volume intersection. It was finally installed on Wednesday night and became effective July 1, 2021. Caltrans and our staff will monitor traffic conditions to determine how effective it is and whether we want to consider a permanent pedestrian signal. LEARN MORE
Last week our beloved Penny Bear received a much-needed “bath”! The artists who created Penny Bear gave her a good cleaning and trained our Placer County team on how to take care of the piece going forward. LEARN MORE
The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a balanced budget of $1,024,477,507 for the next fiscal year – 0.4% increase from last year’s final budget of $1,020,071,376. LEARN MORE
PLACER RANKS #35 AS ONE OF THE HEALTHIEST COMMUNITIES IN NATION
Where you live can play a crucial role in determining how healthy you are. The 2021 Healthiest Communities rankings highlight measure nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents across 84 factors that fuel and form the health of a community and its residents. Check out the report!
Contact information:
175 Fulweiler Ave., Auburn, CA 95603
Supervisor Cindy Gustafson: cindygustafson@
District Aide Kelly McCaughna: kmccaughna@placer.
District Aide Sophie Fox: sfox@placer.ca.gov
Assistant District Aide Lindsay Thayer: lthayer@placer.ca.gov
