Travis County Commissioners Court aims to better coordinate fire information

By Joe Olivieri
Tuesday, 04 October 2011

To aid ongoing local wildfire relief efforts, the Travis County Commissioners Court authorized new ways to improve communication between the public and emergency services at its Oct. 4 meeting.

The court approved the following staff recommendations by a 4–0 vote. It would:

*Partner with fire services to improve how it collects information to help the public;
*set up temporary permitting locations near where houses are being rebuilt;
*compile existing fire safety and disaster relief information from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Travis County Health and Human Services into a fact sheet;
*use the county's print shop to distribute fire safety information;
*publish a wildfire assistance "frequently asked questions page" on either its website or on Facebook;
*and work to dispose of hazardous materials.

The court planned to ask its legal department about waiving the $50 permitting fees. It will discuss wildfire response again at its Oct. 11 meeting.

Steve Manilla, Transportation and Natural Resources department executive manager, had made other recommendations on which the court took no action.

Manilla said county workers cannot leave county rights of way to resolve some fire issues and asked if the county could hire contractors to deal with them.

He also said having "a single point of contact" for all public questions and comments would be helpful.Commissioner Karen Huber said the court would look into it.

Spicewood area residents updated the court on community relief efforts there.

Judy Wisdom, a parishioner of Bee Creek United Methodist Church in Spicewood, said 131 homes were located in the burn area and 45 were completely burned.

"Most homes that were completely burned, whether they were one or two stories, are now this tall," she said, holding her hand to the height of a table.

She said church volunteers have been distributing water, snacks, clothes, shovels and grocery store gift cards.

Wisdom noted that the church was accepting volunteers and donations. It stopped collecting clothing donations.

"In the basement, they have tables stacked high with clothes," she added.

She said that displaced families were staying with friends and relatives.

Huber said that, to date, 28 of the 32 people who had applied with FEMA for individual assistance were uninsured.

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