August 2020

As I write this comment, my wife and I have been preparing to leave our beautiful Incline Village home if a fire emergency develops in the area. We have packed one of our cars with sleeping bags, valuables, and heirlooms in case we need to evacuate on short notice. In 2018, just two years ago the Camp fire (aka Paradise Fire)……(from wikopedia)

caused at least 85 civilian fatalities, with one person still missing, and injured 12 civilians, two prison inmate firefighters, and three other firefighters. It covered an area of 153,336 acres (62,053 ha) (almost 240 sq. miles), and destroyed 18,804 structures, with most of the damage occurring within the first four hours. The towns of Paradise and Concow were almost completely destroyed, each losing about 95% of structures in town. The town of Magalia also suffered, with roughly half of the structures in town destroyed.  By January 2019, the total damage was estimated at $16.5 billion.

As you know we are in the middle of a major fire season. In both California and Nevada fire suppression resources are stretched to their limits. We can in no way depend on mutual assistance pacts with nearby or even far away communities. In the event of a fire emergency our ONLY resource is our vehicles and our ability to drive out of town. Paradise had only one road. Fortunately, IV/CB have three roads. But these roads are burdened with many problems.

The proposed STR regulations will pack IV/CB during peak fire season with thousands of visitors. Our NLTFPD, on their web site, lacks any form of a coordinated coherent emergency evacuation plan. Our lack of a normal government structure here and a multiplicity of multi-state and multi-jurisdictional police and fire-rescue entities insure that in the case of a major conflagration we are screwed. Tourist visitors will be on their own with no signs or people to guide them to a safe exit from the area. Locals will be blocked by confused visitors not being familiar with escape routes.

Just this week mid-day traffic was backed up at least ¼ mile with people trying to go left from highway 28 onto (eastbound) highway 50 at Spooner junction. We all know what a disaster traffic is in Kings Beach with the pedestrian crosswalks and roundabouts. Every weekend all Summer long we routinely see backups of ½ to one mile extending into Nevada. How would that work out as an emergency exit from IV/CB in a fire storm? We do not even have the police available to make highway 28 a one-way exit from our area. And then, what difference would it make if traffic were bottlenecked at Kings Beach or at Spooner. If a firestorm came from the southeast, I doubt that even then, that signs and police would be available to make 431 a one way exit from the area.

This ill planned and defective STR legislation is a safety disaster for our community. The number of STR’s must be capped at a reasonable number like 200-300 with a maximum number of years before going back into the

pool to be drawn again for a permit.

Regulations like that adopted in Las Vegas should be the model. As for the uniqueness of this area, all primary renters should be briefed (perhaps by watching a movie) on trash disposal, parking regulations, exiting the area in an emergency, protecting our bears and wildlife, and our noise ordinance.

Do you, respected commissioners, want to watch the possible disaster that took place in Paradise repeated in IV/CB?

Do you, respected commissioners, want to see a multi-hundred death count of people who died in their cars and STRs because a bunch of greedy realtors want to exploit our community residents and make some money.

Look, I know that many of you get campaign donations from our local real estate interests. But to throw sanity to the wind with this proposed regulation is going too far.

Finally, I would like all of you to see the film “Fire in Paradise” on this PBS link. If you do not care to see the entire movie (which is excellent). At least look at the trailer. If you get nothing else from the film, it will help you to personally know how to respond with speed and focus in an emergency.

Fire in Paradise

Respectfully, Michael and Helen Abel –full time residents -Incline Village