AUBURN, Calif. September 12, 2019 – For our second event focusing on “Wildfire Season,” we’re going to talk about what it means to live in a high or very-high risk zone for wildfires: what you need to know, how you need to prepare; how things are changing, from forest management and firefighting to utility usage and homeowners’ insurance policies; and how all that will probably change your lifestyle and the place you live.

We have a great group of panelists whose jobs involved making a lot of big decisions about the wildfires that hit California in the past few years. We’ll ask them about those decisions and their impacts as well as their advice (which probably won’t be sugar-coated) about living in a place that’s at high risk of wildfires year-round, and what we all need to know, and do, about it going forward.

We’re driving up Highway 80 to the lovely Gold Rush town of Auburn, the county seat for Placer County. According to Cal Fire maps, Auburn sits in the “high” risk zone of wildfire hazards, and it’s right next to a wide swath of the bright red “very high” risk zone that includes much of the Sierra Nevada — and a lot of notable towns in it, including Paradise and Placerville, Grass Valley and Nevada City, and all of Lake Tahoe.

Down in SoCal, the “very high” risk zone includes a lot of highly-populated areas in and around Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.

So a lot of people are at risk of being hit when the next California wildfire burns.

The event will be at the Odd Fellows Hall at 1226 Lincoln Way. in Auburn.

PANELISTS
* Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission
* Ken Pimlott, newly-retired chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire for short)
* Seren Taylor, senior legislative advocate for the Personal Insurance Federation of California

TIMELINE
* 6:30 pm: Doors open for our “Happy Half-Hour” – grab a beer (Knee Deep Brewing in Auburn is making one specifically for our Off Fellows hosts to serve you), find a seat, check out the history on the walls of the Odd Fellows Hall
* 7 pm: We start talking – moderated questions for 30-40 minutes, followed by your questions.

TICKETS
$10, which includes your first beer, wine or cocktail (water and soft drinks are free of charge)

Click here to purchase your tickets on our Eventbrite page.

Event info is at:

* California Groundbreakers website    www.californiagroundbreakers.org/events/2019/9/17/policy-and-pint-wildfire-season-living-in-high-risk-zone
* Facebook event invite:  www.facebook.com/events/2428808147404697