Rep. Huffman Welcomes Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin to Testify in T&I Subcommittee on Wildfire Impacts & Recovery

March 20, 2018

Washington, D.C.- Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today welcomed Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin to testify in front of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management on the needs of the North Coast during the long path to recovery in the wake of the October wildfires.

“Last fall Northern California was struck with one of the most devastating wildfires in our state’s history,” said Rep. Huffman. “From the Redwood Valley and Potter Valley fires in Mendocino, to the Pocket Fire in Geyserville, to the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, the communities I represent were hit with an indescribable level of devastation. As we continue our work together to move forward in rebuilding our communities to be better and safer in the future, Supervisor Gorin offered my colleagues on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee an invaluable first-hand account of the tragic wildfires and their impact.”

After sharing her chilling personal story, including losing her own home in the fire, Supervisor Gorin emphasized the needs of the North Coast in the wake of tragedy.  

“You see in the debris, in the ashes, 45 years of life, of marriage, of family history, family photos, the iron board sticking up in the ashes, and realizing you need to purchase every single item you lost in the home. It’s overwhelming, both from a grief and a time perspective.  And you magnify my experience and my husband’s, by 5000 or more, and you get some scale of the needs of my community and more,” said Supervisor Gorin.  

“We absolutely need robust, effective, and redundant alert systems that will not fail when the cell towers and landlines come down. Secondly, disaster preparedness... Often our community members survived because their neighbors knocked on the door or telephoned their friends a couple blocks away. We need to prepare our community... for the unfolding disasters in the future.” stated Supervisor Gorin.

You can watch Supervisor Gorin’s full testimony here:

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