PG&E hosted an Open House for Mill Valley customers at the Mill Valley Community Center on May 15 to share more about what they are doing to reduce wildfire risk and make our system safer. PG&E officials shared latest updates on local wildfire safety work and provide community resources available to keep customers safe. Additionally, they discussed critical topics affecting the community like: Land use and substation initiatives; Electric and natural gas projects; and Customer resources and savings.
Attendees asked questions, shared feedback and connected with their local PG&E leaders, including North Coast Region Vice President, Dave Canny. They received a cool reception.
Staffers put up easels and posters on topics ranging from safely digging on one’s property to safer power grids. But in the lobby, residents whose homes overlook a big power station had their own easels and posters to protest PG&E’s local track record.
Gary Batroff pointed to before-and-after photos of PG&E’s Alto substation on a bare hill above Hauke Park. He said the utility turned a green landscape into a barren one. “They cut down 130 trees in like two days,” Batroff said. “Some of them were redwoods, which are supposed to be protected.”
Batroff pointed to another easel holding an illustration created by the utility five years ago showing what the substation’s landscaping was supposed to look like.
Gary Batroff pointed to before-and-after photos of PG&E’s Alto substation on a bare hill above Hauke Park. He said the utility turned a green landscape into a barren one.