State of California - Office of the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger

PRESS RELEASE

07/27/2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission Members

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons earlier this week to create the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission. In accordance with the MOU, each Governor shall designate eight-voting members and up to three non-voting ex officio members to the Commission and will each assign one voting member as co-chair. The Governors also ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary to designate one person from the U.S. Forest Service to serve as a voting member on the Commission.

“It is crucial that we all work together to prevent something like the Angora Fire from happening again. That is why we are directing this Commission to examine all federal, state and regional rules and regulations to make sure people have the right fire protection tools to protect their property,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “With this action, I know California and Nevada will rise to the occasion and make sure the Lake Tahoe Basin remains as safe as it is beautiful.”

Governor Schwarzenegger has designated State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan co-chair of the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission and also named Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Director Ruben Grijalva, California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) Undersecretary Cindy Tuck, California Tahoe Conservancy Executive Director Pat Wright, Lake Valley Fire District Chief Jeff Michael, Nevada Fire Safe Council Tahoe Basin Coordinator John Pickett, North Lake Tahoe Resort Association Board of Directors Member Ron McIntyre and Angora Fire victim John Upton as voting members to represent California on the Commission. Additionally, the Governor announced Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Chair Julie Motamedi and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board Chair Amy Horne as non-voting members on the Commission.

Kate Dargan has over 30 years of experience with CAL FIRE and was appointed this year by Governor Schwarzenegger as California’s first woman state fire marshal. She served as the assistant state fire marshal from 2005 to March 2007. From 2002 to 2005, Dargan served as the Napa County fire marshal and was the division chief for Cooperative Fire Protection in 2001, where she was the CAL FIRE, formerly known as CDF, liaison to state agencies involved in disaster response including the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Prior to joining the Cooperative Fire Protection, Dargan served as battalion chief for the air attack base and conservation camp in Nevada County from 1997 to 2000, where she founded the Nevada County Fire Safe Council. Dargan began her career with CAL FIRE as a firefighter in Santa Cruz County in 1977, before being promoted to fire apparatus engineer and fire captain in San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties from 1980 to 1994. Additionally, Dargan is a member of the California Fire Chiefs Association, National Fire Protection Association and the American Planning Association.

Ruben Grijalva was appointed the director of CAL FIRE by the Governor in April 2006. He served as acting director of the department from January 2006 to April 2006. Grijalva was appointed state fire marshal in 2004 and served in this post until March of this year. Previously, he served as fire chief for the Palo Alto Fire Department from 1994 to 2004, where he also was assistant fire chief from 1990 to 1994. Grijalva served in the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety from 1976 to 1990. During this period, he held positions in both the police and fire divisions before serving as fire marshal from 1985 to 1990. He is past president of the Fire Chiefs Department for the League of California Cities and the Santa Clara County Fire Chiefs Association. He is a member of the California Fire Chiefs Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Cindy Tuck was recently appointed undersecretary for Cal/EPA. She has more than 20 years of air quality, water quality and hazardous materials management experience in California. From 2005 to July 2007, Tuck served as assistant secretary for policy for Cal/EPA. Before that, she briefly served as chair for the California Air Resources Board in 2005. Tuck was general counsel and manager of the State and Bay Area Air Quality Committees at the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance from 2000 to 2005. Previously, she was a government relations advisor and associate with the Law Offices of William J. Thomas from 1993 to 2000.

Patrick Wright has served as the executive director of the California Tahoe Conservancy, a state agency charged with protecting and enhancing natural resources and recreational opportunities in the Lake Tahoe Basin, since 2006. He previously served as director of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program from 2000 to 2005, where he led a consortium of agencies and stakeholders in managing one of the nation’s largest collaborative water management programs. Wright also served as deputy and assistant secretary for the California Resources Agency in 2005. He served on the California Coastal Conservancy Board of Directors from 1999 to 2000.

Jeff Michael has served as the fire chief of the Lake Valley Fire District for the past two years and has been with the District since 1979. Previously, he held the positions of battalion chief, captain, engineer and firefighter. Michael went to high school in South Lake Tahoe and has a vast knowledge of the Lake Tahoe Basin. He has an Associate in Arts degree in fire science and is a certified chief officer with the State Fire Marshal.

John Pickett has served as the coordinator for California for the Nevada Fire Safe Council since 2005. His duties include managing forest fuels reduction projects adjacent to communities and helping homeowners create defensible space around their homes. Pickett also founded the Sugar Pine Foundation, a group dedicated to restoring white pine forests in California, in 2004. Previously, he served as a forestry technician with the U.S. Forest Service from 2001 to 2004. Pickett also was a private business consultant for real estate development and the construction industry from 1995 to 2000. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters.

Ron McIntyre has lived, worked and served in various official capacities in the Lake Tahoe area for more than three decades. He currently does private consulting for businesses and public agencies in the Tahoe area and serves as director and president of the Tahoe City Recreation Association. From 1996 to 2005, McIntyre was the director of infrastructure and transportation development for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. Previously, he served as executive director of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce from 1993 to 1996. McIntyre has also held the positions of elected director of the Tahoe City Public Utility District from 1980 to 1998; director of the Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency from 1966 to 1969 and 1971 to 1978; director of the Lake Tahoe Area Council from 1968 to1969; and chair of the Graduation Requirements Committee for the Tahoe-Truckee School District from 1971 to 1973. He is a member of the North Lake Resort Association Board of the Directors and the PRPA Advisory Planning Commission, as well as serves as secretary for the Workforce Housing Association of Truckee-Tahoe.

John Upton is a victim of the Angora Fire and lost his rental home in the fire. He has served as a City of South Lake Tahoe public appointee to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) Advisory Planning Commission since 2007. Upton also previously served on the TRPA Governing Board from 1990 to1998 and again in 2005. He served on the Tahoe City Council from 2002 to 2006 and served on the El Dorado Board of Supervisors for 2 terms from 1991 to 1999. In 1998, Upton was the president of the California State Association of Counties. He was elected city treasurer for the City of Tahoe from 1974 to 1990. Upton is a former member of the School Board for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District and the Tahoe Chamber of Commerce Board.

Julie Motamedi has served on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) since 2005. Additionally, she has been a corporate officer for Lakehouse Mall Property Management since 1998. Motamedi is a founding member of the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation. She also serves as a member of the Tahoe Maritime Museum and is a former trustee for the Sutter Hospital Foundation. Motamedi previously served on the United Way Allocations Committee and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Sacramento Board of Directors.

Amy Horne has served on the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board since 2003, where she currently serves as chair. She has also been a consultant specializing on natural resource policy and science since 2005. From 1998 to 2005, Horne was the research director for the Sierra Business Council, where she produced the award-winning Sierra Nevada Wealth Index and Investing for Prosperity, a comprehensive guide to rural economic development. Between 1993 and 1997, she worked for the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service, where she conducted the economic assessment for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. Horne is also a board member for the Tahoe Baikal Institute.

The Commission will perform a comprehensive review of federal, state and regional laws, policies and practices that affect the vulnerability of the Tahoe Basin to wildfires. It will also consider various user-friendly approaches to reducing the threat of wildfires while protecting the environment and submit a report and recommendations to the two governors by March 21, 2008. The Commission will disband 60 days after delivering its report and recommendations.