Portola Valley Town Center

04/17/2025

The Portola Valley Update for April 17, 2025, is now available.

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04/10/2025

Join us at our town's annual Horse Fair! Saturday, May 17, 10:30am - 1:30pm. Free family fun!

03/20/2025

The Portola Valley Update for March 20, 2025, is now available!

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03/07/2025

The Portola Valley Update for March 6 is now available.

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02/20/2025

The Portola Valley update for February 20, 2025 is now available.

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02/18/2025

Climate Change is increasing Wildfire Activity

In Aug-2024, an international network of fire scientists issued their inaugural report on the increase in wildfire activity and risk brought by climate change. The period of Mar-2023 to Feb-2024 saw record-breaking wildfires in Canada, Lahaina, Greece, the Amazon and Chili. The probability of these extreme fire seasons has increased over 3-fold in Canada, and almost 29-fold in Amazonia. The report is titled simply “State of Wildfires 2023-2024”.

• Red Zone, who specializes in wildfire underwriting, issued a quick highlight here.
• The 85-page report is here.
• UK lead author Dr Matthew Jones has a webpage with interactive tools to visualize the global 2023-2024 wildfire season.

Please subscribe to Portola Valley Town eNotices from the Wildfire Preparedness Committee!

01/16/2025

The Portola Valley Update for January 16, 2025 is now available.

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12/04/2024

Fall is for Berries

Most plants are done flowering by this time of year, but there is a wonderful display of berries if you look.

Most prominent locally are Toyon and Snowberry, but many other locally native shrubs sport late summer/fall berries. These include Currant/gooseberries (Ribes spp), Wild rose (Rosa spp.), Blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp), Oregon grape (Mahonia spp), Grape (Vitus californica) and Holly-leaf cherry (Prunus illicifolia). Many of these can be seen in the Town Center native plant garden.

Think about adding several to your landscape –they provide year-round habitat, nectar for insects in the spring and the berries provide food for birds and small mammals throughout the fall and winter – they’ll love you for it and you’ll love watching them.

10/08/2024

DIY Air Cleaner for Wildfire Smoke

News Flash: Please join us at the upcoming WPC meeting on Wed Oct-16-2024 @ 4:00 PM. FM Kim Giuliacci will give a presentation on home hardening. Also, if your homeowners insurance has been non-renewed, please report it via the WPC insurance survey/tracking form.

In Jun-2024, RAMP Asthma held a webinar on the air quality impacts of wildfire smoke. Do you remember the hazardous air quality during the 2020 CZU fire? And it was concurrent with the beginning of COVID? Air cleaners were in high demand. EPA now has research and an infographic on assembling a DIY air cleaner.

10/03/2024

The Portola Valley Update for October 3, 2024 is now available.

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10/01/2024

Discounted Wildfire Mesh; High Heat this Week

Anyone who has enclosed the underside of their decks will have discovered it is difficult to find 1/8” mesh in wider widths. This month, WFPD residents can purchase Wildfire Defense Mesh at a 20% discount through Oct-31-2024. Use the code WoodsideFPD20.

This mesh is used throughout Australia (hence the original brand name of Bushfire Mesh). It has an aperture of 0.0657”, which means it is closer to 1/16” mesh (0.0625”) and exceeds the building code Chapter 7A minimum of 1/8” mesh for vents. This mesh is stainless steel, so it resists both embers and radiant heat. The 50 foot rolls come in many widths. Order 7.5” width for most attic and foundation vents, or the wider widths to enclose decks.

This first week of October, we will see as much as 5 days of high heat. This will dry out vegetation, which means wildfire will spread fast. It’s a good time to check your Go Bag and make sure it is ready.

Lastly, we sadly bid adieu to Kari Chinn, who has managed Town communications throughout the pandemic and aided the WPC and EPC. These tips would not exist nor would the two PV Wildfire Preparedness Fairs have happened without her help, encouragement, and wise advice. Thanks Kari, we will miss you. ❤️❤️

09/10/2024

Do you Have a Home Inventory?

September is National Preparedness Month and a good time to create or refresh your home inventory. What is in your home, how much did it cost, and what would it cost to replace it? These records could be required for tax purposes, getting assistance, or insurance reimbursement.

• An IRS overview of record-keeping is here, and they also provide an inventory workbook in Pub 584. Note that for tax years 2018 through 2025, casualty loss of your home is deductible if the loss is attributable to a federally declared disaster.
• The Oakland Fire Safe Council has a short 2-pager on home inventory and an insurance check-up.
• United Policyholders has a guide on replacing a dwelling after a total loss. To figure the exact cost of replacing your home, do you have digital copies of plans and images of construction/finish details? Now is the time to collect that.
• And don’t forget to keep digital copies of other important documents.