@Dennise-Ann0 @Anonymous @Mike-And-Jane0
You have posed an excellent question. We are in Mendocino County, Northern California, so this is a local question for us. Your responses are excellent as well, particularly from a public safety aspect, and quoting policy.
Bear with me, please, as I tell more of the reality of living and hosting in California in summer. Twain Harte is in the risky zone as well. Nearby Sonora just had a fire that could have become another statistic.
Unless you have personally faced smoke, flames, and live with evacuation bags packed, as I do, as a firefighter and as a permanent wild land resident, this is just words on paper. I've also seen, as an ER person, what fire can do to flesh, smoke can do to the heart and lungs. People die of smoke inhalation in fires, as fire uses oxygen as food.
We know the very real risks and responsibilities of living in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We have evacuation and survival plans A, B, C at all times, and consider health and safety of guests in them.
We often block our calendar in fire season, as now, because the drift smoke is choking us and restricting all outdoor activity, especially hiking our beautiful trails. Visibility is seriously restricted. Those vast views and pristine air quality we normally enjoy are a mere rumor during fire season.
The public forest is closed here too, although it was totally burned over recently, in several years of enormous, record breaking fires. The hazard is still great all over, and there are not enough resources to deal with another fire. It is unbelievably dry here, all it takes is a spark. Every firefighter and all that equipment is in the Sierra foothills right now trying to protect people and homes in the wild land interface. We, too, are always at risk as we are in the wilderness, here. Maintaining a firebreak is ongoing hard work.
We are constantly prepared and conscious of this, so our guests do not have to think of it, at all.
The ecology in the west is fire dependent, and drought cycles are as normal as fire is. A century of fire suppression by policy has made us much more vulnerable to huge fires, even without climate issues. The forests and chaparral need to renew by periodic fire, not built up fuel.
It is very different from hurricanes, yet the consciousness and preparedness is the same.
It is known, here, that people are sneaking around and camping everywhere there is a wide spot. This is a larger public safety risk. Water for residential use is scarce now, in the drought, wells are low and many are dry. The lakes, ponds, reservoirs which are normally also used for firefighting, are low, many are mud puddles. Many communities are hauling truckloads of water from areas with some to spare. Much of the west is actually irrigated desert. Every drop is precious.
Locals are carrying fire extinguishers in our vehicles, and using them on small fires in vacant lots and roadsides here. We all carry water, food, survival gear, shovels and dress for safety, not fashion. It is a lot of responsibility to allow guests in such a time, here.
Our visitors need the recreation our regions offer, and peace of mind to re-create themselves so they can go back to cities and jobs that keep the world running as expected. They join us in a situation of risk for safety in any emergency. Not only is there the potential for need of evacuation, there is also a situation with our rural hospitals which are overflowing with Covid patients. Medical workers are beyond stressed, and there are no beds available for other medical emergencies. Car wrecks, strokes, heart attacks, and accidents on the remote trails, included. Sobering, yes. Being a responsible Innkeeper is not a simple thing.
Asking these questions and considering the reality of our situations is definitely responsible.
