Portola Valley Update July 3, 2025

This Week's Update

• 4th of July Town Hall Closure
• 🎆 Fireworks Are Illegal in the Woodside Fire Protection District — Here's Why
• Committee Spotlight; Conservation Committee Celebrates - New Owl Box Protects Local Wildlife
• Mental Preparation --> Decisiveness in a disaster
• Conservation Committee July Tip of the Month
• Upcoming Town Events

4th of July Town Hall Closure

Town Hall will be closed Friday July 4 for the Independence Day Holiday. Per the Town's Noise Ordinance, No Construction or landscaping activities allowed on July 4th for Independence Day. Fireworks are not allowed per the Town's Municipal code and will be subject to a fine. Please do not set off fireworks in your yard. The Almanac compiled a list of 4th of July celebrations across the Bay Area; including a Professional Firework Display.

🎆 Fireworks Are Illegal in the Woodside Fire Protection District — Here's Why

As we approach the 4th of July, the Woodside Fire Protection District reminds all residents and visitors that all fireworks — including “safe and sane” fireworks — are strictly prohibited within the District’s boundaries. The best way to prevent injuries and fires is simple: avoid using fireworks altogether. Instead, enjoy a public fireworks display put on by professionals — it's safer, legal, and just as festive!

🚫 Why Are Fireworks Illegal?

All fireworks, including “safe and sane” types, are strictly prohibited within the boundaries of the Woodside Fire Protection District — which includes both the Town of Woodside and Town of Portola Valley.

This prohibition is supported by:

• Local ordinance enforced by the District under the District Fire Code Section 5601: The possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling, and use of fireworks within all areas of the Woodside Fire Protection District are prohibited. & District Fire Code Section 5608: All non-professional fireworks listed by the California State Fire Marshal as “Safe and Sane” are prohibited within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Woodside Fire Protection District
• High wildfire risk in our area, especially during the dry summer months, makes fireworks extremely dangerous.

Violators are subject to fines and potential prosecution, as even small fireworks can trigger devastating fires.

⚠️ The Hidden Dangers: Fireworks Injuries & Fires

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):

• More than 19,000 fires are started by fireworks annually in the U.S.
• In 2023 alone, over 10,000 people were injured badly enough to require emergency treatment — with many injuries involving the hands, face, and eyes.
• Children under 15 account for nearly 1/3 of all fireworks injuries.
• Sparklers alone burn at temperatures above 1,200°F, posing serious burn and fire hazards.

In our local community — where drought conditions and high fuel loads are a constant — even a single spark can escalate into a wildfire threatening homes and lives.

Even seemingly harmless fireworks like sparklers reach temperatures over 1,200°F — hot enough to melt metal or cause severe burns and wildfires.

Don’t take the risk. Leave fireworks to the professionals and protect your family, pets, and neighborhood.

🎇 Safer Alternatives and Fun Tips

• Try glow sticks instead of sparklers — they offer a festive, colorful glow without the fire danger.
• Attend a professional fireworks show hosted in nearby communities for a safe and legal celebration.

🔥 Outdoor Grilling Safety Tips

Planning to grill outdoors for the holiday? Keep it safe with these tips:

• Maintain a 3-foot safety zone around the grill — keep children, pets, and flammable objects away.
• Always supervise the grill while in use.
• Place your grill on a flat, stable surface well away from structures, overhangs, or dry vegetation.

By following these safety guidelines, you’re helping ensure a fun, fire-safe, and injury-free Independence Day for everyone in the community.

Happy 4th of July from Woodside Fire Protection District!

Committee Spotlight; Conservation Committee Celebrates - New Owl Box Protects Local Wildlife

The Portola Valley Conservation Committee recently sponsored the installation of a handcrafted barn owl box in Frog Pond Park. Eliza Low, a local high school student and wildlife advocate, created the box and worked with the town to place it.

By providing nesting boxes, the town hopes to support barn owl reproduction as a way to control rodent populations. Since a single family of barn owls can eat 3,000 rodents a year, these birds are a great alternative to ecologically destructive rodent poisons.

Rodenticides endanger local ecosystems and are especially harmful to animals near the top of the food chain. When a rat consumes poison, it takes up to ten days to die, and during this time, it is easily picked off by a hungry predator. As a result of this, the predator experiences the effects of the poison meant for the rodent: weakness, paralysis, and sometimes death.

Predator poisoning is horrifyingly common. In fact, according to a recent study from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 88% of birds of prey and 95% of mountain lions tested positive for exposure to rodent poison. In a town that treasures its biodiversity, rodenticides have no place.

Luckily, the use of rodenticides is not necessary. From owl boxes to rodent fertility control, there are a wide variety of wildlife-safe options on the market. The town of Portola Valley avoids the use of rodenticides when possible and encourages others to do the same. Residents who want to protect local food chains should make sure that they, or their pest control company, are not using rodent poisons. Portola Valley hopes to lead the way by using natural pest control to protect local wildlife.

Mental Preparation --> Decisiveness in a disaster

Amanda Ripley is a journalist who has interviewed many disaster survivors. In her reporting, she observed that decisiveness was a key quality among survivors. When regular people take action, it saves lives. In her 19-minute video, she explains that in an unexpected and sudden disaster, humans go through 3 stages of emotions:

• Denial (disbelief and delay in recognizing the situation)
• Deliberation (milling with others on what to do next)

As an example of Denial and Deliberation: people prefer normalcy, so they check with 5 sources before evacuating for a hurricane. The way to get to Decisiveness faster is to be prepared and be alert to your situation. Preparedness is practice. Practice your evacuation with your family. Sign up for alerts. Have your Go Bag ready on Red Flag Warning days (high winds, low moisture), and do anything else to help you feel Ready for Wildfire.

Thank you to Chip Swan of WPV-Ready for bringing Amanda Ripley’s video to light.

This bi-weekly Tip was brought to you by the Wildfire Preparedness Committee

Conservation Committee July Tip of the Month

Yellow Star Thistle

Centaurea solstitialis

This looks to be a banner year for Yellow Star thistle, one of our very worst invasive weeds. Please do what you can to remove this pest from your property. Your neighbors will thank you.

• Member of the Aster Family and Knapweed Genus, arrived in CA in 1850s from the Mediterranean.
• Prefers compacted or damaged soil, spreading rapidly along roadsides via cars and equipment.
• It has a very deep and vigorous tap root, but if you get the crown it will not grow back.
• YST chokes out most other vegetation and depletes the soil of moisture.
• The seed bank for YST can last ten years
• It is readily browsed by sheep and goats, but can be lethal to horses.

Control

1. Hand pull or mow (or weed-whack) before <2% of plants are blooming (the first day you see flowers). This significantly reduces the reseeding rate. The goal is to get rid of the plants before any set seed. This may need to be repeated to get resprouting plants.
2. Goats effectively graze on YST, even in the spiny stage - allowing struggling native plants to receive more light and moisture.
3. Replant area with fast growing natives such as native Salvias or Eriogonums (Buckwheats).
4. Yearly weeding, mowing or grazing can keep YST under control afterwards, but it needs persistence for the first few years and ten years of no new plants before it can be considered gone.

More information on C. solstitialis can be found here:

UC Integrated Pest Management Pest Note:

https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7402.html

California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) webpage:

https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/profile/centaurea-solstitialis-profile/