This year’s town halls begin next week with Tierrasanta on Wednesday and the Navajo area on Thursday! Then, the following week, we’ll wrap up with Linda Vista/Mission Valley and Serra Mesa town halls. These town halls are the perfect opportunity for us to discuss the issues on your mind as we begin 2025. Use this link or email VVettiyil@sandiego.gov to RSVP.

Last week, San Diego firefighters tried out a new product called Mighty Fire Breaker, a citrus-based and food-based tool, to spray down chaparral in San Carlos in order to make it more fire resistant. The Mighty Fire Breaker spray will last for six months, unless washed away by heavy rain, and is an incredibly effective tool to prevent fires. The San Diego Fire Department (SDFD) say they will continue to use the tool in fire-prone areas. Thanks SDFD for continuing to innovate to bolster our community’s fire safety and readiness!

With continuing dry conditions, I want to reshare the San Diego Fire Department’s “Ready, Set, Go!” guide. This guide has lots of great info about how to be prepared for and react to wildfires. If you have not reviewed this information recently, I recommend doing so to ensure that you and your family are as prepared as possible.

Thank you to the San Diego Fire Department for your incredibly swift and dedicated response to the several fires across San Diego County this week. We must do what we can to assist their efforts in prevention and mitigation.

According to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) monthly data, more people were housed than fell into homelessness in the month of December. This follows the same trend from November. While we must be cognizant of the fact that there is much more to do to address our homelessness crisis, I am encouraged by this data. Blake Nelson of the U-T writes more about this story here.

On Wednesday, Fire Department leadership came to the Public Safety Committee, on which I serve as Vice Chair, to present on fire preparedness. Fire staff shared that we are currently only at 0.16" of rain, when at this point, we should on average have 4.46". Additionally, the Santa Ana Winds present a key challenge. Staff emphasized how important it is that residents use the Ready, Set, Go guide to be prepared.

In my questions, I made sure to ask about water pressure concerns as they relate to the situation we saw in Los Angeles, preventative brush management, cross-government and cross-departmental collaboration, and more. To watch the full conversation, navigate to this link, hit “Video” for the most recent meeting, and head to 1:27:00.

Following the meeting, Chief Logan shared in an interview with CBS 8 that San Diego remains a top-rated City when it comes to fire safety – which does not surprise me in the slightest, based on how well the Fire Department does their work.