Disaster Preparedness

CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)

In the event of a major disaster, professional emergency services may be overwhelmed and unavailable for long periods of time requiring our town to depend heavily upon voluntary assistance. With this in mind, the Marin County fire departments have adopted a citizen training program Community Emergency Response Training (C.E.R.T.). CERT is designed to train citizens to care for themselves and neighbors in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake or a wildland fire. For more information, or to register on-line for classes, visit the Marin County CERT website .

Get Ready Marin

All of us want to be ready in case of an emergency – to protect our families and our neighbors. If you don't have time to commit to a 16-hour CERT class, there is a modified two-hour Get Ready training session. This abbreviated version offers an overview of emergency preparedness without the hands-on training of a CERT class. For more information about Get Ready, call us at 456-5652 or visit www.getreadyrossvalley.org.

Fire Awareness and Mitigation

The Fairfax Volunteers and neighborhood leaders on the Scenic / Tamalpais loop organized a "chipper day" in April 2009 in which area residents removed flammable brush for collection and mulching. This pilot program was conducted to assess if local residents' efforts could be effectively multiplied to reduce the risk to life and property in the event of a wildland-urban fire. The project was funded by several grants received by the Fairfax Volunteers from Fire Safe Marin and the Ross Valley Fire Protection District . Over 30 cubic yards of brush was removed and chipped.

Due to the success of this pilot project, in September 2010 the Fairfax Volunteers coordinated a major brush-clearing / fuel reduction effort in the targeted high-risk Fairfax zones of Deer Park, Cascade Canyon, and Scenic / Tamalpais. This effort was funded by a FEMA hazardous fuels reduction grant. This effort was spearheaded by several key community leaders, and leveraged an extensive network of neighborhood captains and other volunteers.

As a result of this successful effort, it is hoped that community awareness of defensible space, invasive or non-native species, and other fuel reduction issues has been increased and that community members will continue to promote and advocate for ongoing fuel reduction in these and other Fairfax neighborhoods.

Wildfire Fuel Reduction

Due to the overwhelming success of the  pilot "chipper day" project in April 2009,  Fairfax Volunteers will help to coordinate "chipper day" events in targeted high-risk Fairfax neighborhoods in 2010. This effort will be funded by a FEMA hazardous fuels reduction grant. 

Flood Awareness

Fairfax is endowed with a temperate and moist winter climate influenced by the rain shadow of Mount Tamalpais.  As a result, Fairfax and San Anselmo Creeks are subject to rapidly rising flows when soils are saturated and urban stream advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service, placing property and life at risk.

For town residents living in creek flood zones, flood gate construction plans are available at the front desk of Town Hall and to local builders who are interested in soliciting work putting them in.

All residents should keep culverts clear and working by removing debris as it collects and blocks water flow. For residents within flood zones, or  located in areas where rapid run-off occurs, sandbags are typically available in the Fairfax Pavilion parking lot. Ross Valley Fire Department has installed real-time creek depth gauges to monitor hydrologic risk in the event of flood advisories: