This year was possibly the worst wildfire risk our communities have ever seen. Every indicator pointed to the extreme likelihood that we would suffer a catastrophic wildfire. Those indicators, collectively known as the Energy Release Components (ERC’s), were trending as high as, or higher than the year of the Rodeo-Chedeski Fire. Now that the rains have arrived and the wildfire risk has begun to diminish, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all of you, residents and visitors, who took the information that was being provided through official sources so seriously, and did your part to keep our communities safe. I am sympathetic to the fact that fire restrictions are inconvenient, and sometimes alter your plans, but together we avoided having a significant fire that may have been devastating to our way of life.