Valley Fire Story & Reflections on Emergency Preparedness
In 2015, I was displaced from my home in Northern California’s rural Lake County by the record-setting Valley Fire, leading me to initiate coverage of the disaster on our community radio station and ultimately to become a certified first responder and teacher of emergency preparedness.
This is my story.
Blog Posts
Videos
When an historic wildfire ripped through Lake County near Napa Valley, CA, volunteers at a low budget radio station took to the airwaves to help hold their community together. FIRE STATION 88.1 is an homage to the human voice and a portrait of a rural northern CA community confronting the new normal of monster wildfires across the west. Co-directed by Marnie Crawford Samuelson & Shane Hofeldt with an original score by Kyle Oppenheimer. Copyright 2021 Boston Picture Group.
In this workshop from the 13th Annual Northern California Permaculture Convergence, Transition US Communications Director Nils Palsson joins Lesley Moore to unpack the vital link between community resilience and emergency preparedness.
Valley Fire Photos
Campaign Story
In 2016 and 2018, I ran for United States House of Representatives in California’s 5th District, on a platform of social, racial, environmental and economic justice for all. This is my story.
Healing Journey
In January, 2021, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I underwent surgery in January and chemotherapy all summer, and it was the most difficult year of my life. Read more about my journey here.
Go Back & Fetch It
My main project right now (and a big part of my healing journey) is writing a book telling the whole messy story of my life leading up to this wake-up call. You can read more about my memoir here.
It's been six years since the Valley Fire displaced me from my home and changed my life. In this article, I share my story and reflections on the incident, along with a link to Fire Station 88.1, the beautiful, short documentary chronicling emergency response efforts at our community radio station during the 2015 Valley Fire.