Talking Fire Insurance With Our State Representatives
by Gaby Huebner and Brownie Brohard, Co-Leaders of Clifftonites Firewise Community in Groveland, Terre Passeau, Leader of Crest Valley Firewise Community in Groveland
We were honored to host our state representatives – Senator Marie Alvardo-Gil and Assemblyman David Tangipa – on January 24th in Groveland for a roundtable discussion on fire insurance. This meeting had been scheduled long before the LA wildfires, but the timing turned out to be very relevant.
We invited U.S. Forest Service Prescribed Fire and Fuel Specialist Pat Laeng, CAL FIRE Pre-Fire Division Chief/Unit Forester with the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Gary Whitson, and Groveland Community Services District General Manager Pete Kampa to give presentations on the fuel reduction work their agencies have done in and around Groveland. Chief Whitson pointed out the extensive work the residents of Pine Mountain Lake have done under the defensible space requirements of California’s PRC 4291 code, and the important role that Pine Mountain Lake Association plays in enforcing this code.
Groveland residents Chris Passeau and Marc Colton were invited to give a presentation on the GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radio communication system they have established in Tuolumne County. They explained how this system is inexpensive and easy to use, especially in emergencies when cell phone service and landlines go down, when power outages occur, and when internet service is out. By using the GMRS system during a wildfire or any other emergency, residents are able to keep in touch with others and get real-time information from the Office of Emergency Services, the Sheriff’s Office, and CAL FIRE. If you would like more information about GMRS, you can email Chris and Marc at TuolumneCountyGMRS@gmail.com.
We shared with the Senator and Assemblyman that we feel the “one size fits all based on your zip code” approach taken by the insurance companies in setting premiums is inequitable, shifting the cost burden from property owners who don’t do any of their defensible space requirements (and rightfully should be charged higher insurance premiums) onto property owners who have done their defensible space clearances and whose properties stand a better chance of surviving a wildfire. We asked them to work with the California Department of Insurance and the insurance companies to use other criteria rather than zip codes when establishing premiums. Groveland can be used as an example of how communities can work together to increase their survival from a wildfire. But despite all the fuel reduction work that has been done in and around Groveland by government agencies and private property owners, having three Firewise Communities established in Groveland, the extensive GMRS network for emergency communications, having evacuation routes mapped, the use of Pine Mountain Lake as a water source that CAL FIRE uses for fighting fires, and having an airport in Groveland that can be utilized for fighting a wildfire (as it was during the 2013 Rim Fire) none of this seems to be taken into account by the insurance companies and Groveland continues to be in the highest insurance wildfire rating.
Assemblyman Tangipa explained that for decades California’s Proposition 103 has kept insurance rates low while home prices have soared, and the high cost of rebuilding after a loss has outpaced premiums – until premiums were allowed to be increased in recent years. During his recent conversations with insurance executives, he has been told that homeowners can expect increases of between $4,000 to $11,000. This will make homeowner’s insurance unattainable for most of us. He told us that while California’s FAIR Plan was created by the state decades ago, it is operated and controlled by insurance companies making the FAIR plan “fair” for the insurance companies not the consumer. There is a link below to the video of the meeting where you can see Assemblyman Tangipa speak.
The meeting was moderated by Earl Brohard. Other invited attendees were District 4 Supervisor Steve Griefer, Executive Director of TC Resource Conservation District Lindsay Mattos, cattle rancher and former fire chief Dick Gaiser, Pine Mountain Lake Association Maintenance and Operations Manager Rick Laffranchi, Pine Mountain Lake Association Fire Safety Coordinator Joe Milani, Tuolumne County Firewise Coordinator Karen Caldwell, and Camp Tuolumne Trails owner Jerry Baker.
After the meeting, Assemblyman Tangipa was taken on a bus tour to view some of the fuel reduction work that has been done in the area. At one of the stops, Chief Whitson explained the work that has been done using CAL FIRE grants and at another stop Pete Kampa explained work that has been done on GCSD property using a grant they obtained. The tour also stopped at the Pine Mountain Lake Airport so the Assemblyman could see the benefit of having such a valuable firefighting asset in our community.,
Eli Mills with Access Tuolumne videoed the meeting. You can watch the recording at https://media.accesstuolumne.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/6438?site=1. Assemblyman Tangipa begins speaking at about 0:53:22.
We thank Jerry Baker for generously letting us use Camp Tuolumne Trails for this meeting, to Southside Community Connections for generously providing their bus for the tour, and to bus driver extraordinaire Rick Whybra.
