MONTEREY, Calif.–The wildfires in northern and southern California are very much at the forefront of discussion among attendees at the California and Nevada leagues’ annual REACH Conference here. More than 25-million Californians are under red flag warnings, meaning they are at risk and may need to evacuate.
Indeed, while the Monterey peninsula has been spared the devastating fires, CUToday.info spoke with two attendees who said they were prepared to leave if necessary and that their homes were in areas where residents had been instructed to be prepared to get out.
Brett Martinez, president of Redwood Credit Union in Santa Rosa, Calif., was absent from the REACH meeting as the result of new fires being fought in the communities served by that credit union.
As CUToday.info reported here, Redwood Credit Union has been publicly recognized for its extraordinary efforts in raising funds and coordinating relief as part of the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund and the North Bay Fire Relief Fund, which through February of 2018 had helped distribute more than $32 million to fire victims, including its own employees.
(Tragic) Deja Vu
At the 2018 REACH Conference in Hollywood, Calif. Martinez was part of a presentation on lessons learned in disaster recovery even as he and his credit union were dealing with a new fire at the same time he was speaking.
There are at least 10 active fires burning in California, including the Kincade fire in Northern California, which has consumed more than 74,000 acres and destroyed more than 120 structures, and the Getty fire in the Los Angeles area, where approximately 156,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
In addition to the fires, credit unions across California are also dealing with power outages as Pacific Gas & Electric has been turning off electricity due to fears high winds will knock down wires and start new fires.