Portola Valley Update December 19, 2024

This week's update:

• Town Hall Closed for Winter Holiday
• Has your Home Insurance Premium Increased in the Last 3 years?
• Winter Storm Preparedness and Sandbag Station in Portola Valley
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip -Lithium Batteries and Energy Storage Systems
• Home Safety Tips During Holiday Season
• Conservation Committee Tip of the Month- Two things about Oak Trees
• Home Holiday Safety Tips from WFPD
• Upcoming Events

Town Hall Closed for Winter Holiday

Town Hall will be closed Tuesday, December 24th through Wednesday, January 1st. Staff will return to work on Thursday January 2, 2025.

For Emergencies, please call 911.

Please note, per the Town's Noise Ordinance, no construction/ landscaping activities allowed on

• Christmas Day, Wednesday December 25, 2024
• New Year's Day, Wednesday January 1, 2025

For non-emergencies here is a list of helpful phone numbers. If you need to report any issues that you would like Town Hall Staff to look at you can report it on PV Connect.

Has your Home Insurance Premium Increased in the Last 3 years?

If so, please take 10 minutes to participate in the Portola Valley Insurance Survey and help the town to track changes in home insurance policies within the community. This initiative aims to gather data on home insurance cancellations, premium changes, and coverage adjustments that affect Portola Valley residents.

Additionally, residents can provide information on their current insurance policies or indicate if they lack insurance. By participating in this survey, you contribute valuable information that helps the Town understand the landscape of home insurance in Portola Valley.

https://www.portolavalley.net/government/town-committees/wildfire-preparedness-committee/portola-valley-insurance-tracking-form/#!/

Winter Storm Preparedness and Sandbag Station in Portola Valley

As the rainy season starts it is good to be prepared for winter storms. The town has resources to help. You can review the Winter Storm Preparedness page for tips on how you can protect your home. Click here to view the page.

The Town of Portola Valley provides a complimentary emergency supply of sandbags to help its residents protect property from flooding during the rainy season.

The self-serve sandbag station is located at Portola Valley Town Center along the southern driveway, across from the basketball courts. The station is accessible daily and will remain available through the end of the rainy season. Learn more about the sandbag station here.

Emergency Contact Information

This is also an advisory to Town residents to please notify Town Staff if you see a downed tree, or other hazard, that blocks a trail or a roadway. During regular business hours, use PV Connect or call 650-851-1700 (8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday). On weekends or outside business hours, please call the County Dispatch at 650-363-4000, who will then alert Town staff, authorized members of the Public Works Committee, or the Fire Department. For additional important contact information, please visit the Town’s website.

Up-to-Date Weather Forecasts

For up-to-date weather forecasts and weather-related advisories, please visit the National Weather Service website at www.weather.gov.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip -Lithium Batteries and Energy Storage Systems

This holiday season, be aware that Lithium-ion batteries power many mobile devices, including smartphones, laptops, smoke alarms, toys, cars and e-cigarettes. But they can be a fire hazard.

Stop using the battery if you notice any of these problems: odor, change in color, too much heat, change in shape, leaking, smoking, odd noises, or not keeping a charge. See CAL FIRE’s Info Bulletin on Lithium Ion Battery Safety. Lithium-ion batteries are considered a Class B fire, so a standard ABC or dry chemical fire extinguisher should be used.

On a larger scale, lithium batteries can power your home during PG&E outages. In Feb-2024, CAL FIRE led a 50-minute webinar on residential and commercial Energy Storage Systems (ESS).

Home Safety Tips during Holiday Season

Safety Tips

Residents are the extra "eyes and ears" for SMC Sheriff's Office. If you "see something, say something." Promptly report suspicious behavior or noise to 9-1-1 (or non-emergency 650-363-4911, ext. 1). Make home security a daily habit.

Away on a Trip

Alert your immediate neighbors about your absence and submit a house watch request with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. To schedule, call 650-363-4911, ext. 1 or file by online SMCSheriff.com>Services>Vacation House Checks. Ask neighbors to bring in your mail, packages, and garbage cans promptly.

For transport to the airport, use a trusted service or friend. Options such as Uber and Lyft may not be secure.

Be cautious about sharing your holiday travel plans publicly, especially on social media.

Homes

Lock all doors and windows, even when you are home. Make sure to keep all valuables out of your master bedroom and adjoining bedrooms. If you use a safe, do not keep it in the master bedroom. When you leave the house turn on the TV and or Radio, put interior lights on a timer. Use outdoor lighting with motion sensors.

Most home burglaries occur between 9 am and 3 pm during the work week when no one is home. Burglars will knock and, if someone answers, pretend to be looking for someone or say they must have the wrong address. They’ll watch a home for movement or noise. They’ll be on the lookout for neighbors who might see them. Use deadbolt locks and consider installing a security system that captures comings and goings and alerts you when someone comes to the door.

Alarm Systems

For systems connected to a service, such as ADT or Bay Alarm, set your alarm to go directly to 9-1-1 Dispatch instead of your mobile phone. The delay in checking with the homeowner to see if it’s a false alarm is enough for a burglar to easily get in and away. SMC Sheriff's Office direct deployment by 9-1-1 enables a prompt response. SMC Sheriff's Office does not charge for false alarms.

Vehicles

Remove garage remotes or spare house keys from a car you regularly park outside. Don’t label your residence as “Home” on your GPS. Always lock your car and remove all valuables.

Garage Doors

Close and lock your garage doors. An open door is a visual invitation to come in. Be sure to lock the connecting door from the garage to the house if you have one.

Deliveries and Packages

Avoid leaving packages visible on your porch. Request delivery services to leave items in secure locations. Installing a locking mailbox for incoming mail adds another layer of security. Collecting your mail promptly-- or asking a neighbor if you cannot -- is key

Door-to-Door Soliciting

If a solicitor comes to your door, ask them for their Town permit. If they do not have one, call the SMC Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number 650-363-4911, ext. 1, with a description of the person and vehicle. SMC Sheriff's Office will want to come out immediately to talk to them. For more information or to put your address on the Do-Not-Solicit list, see Soliciting in Portola Valley.

Partner with Your Neighbors

Let trusted neighbors know if you’ll be away and ask them to keep an eye on your property.

More Safety Information

Frequently asked questions, home security tips, and much more at Town Safety/Crime on the Town website. For crime statistics, see San Mateo County Sheriff | Portola Valley, CA .

Conservation Committee Tip of the Month - Two things about Oak Trees

Two things about Oak Trees

1. Now is the BEST time to have your oak trees pruned. They are dormant and bird nesting doesn’t begin for several months.

Best practices for pruning trees, from the International Society of Arboriculturists (ISA):

• Follow good sanitation practices: Tools and water are primary vectors for pests and pathogens including sudden oak death
• Amount to prune: Never remove more than 25% of a tree's living branches and foliage
• Cut location: Make cuts just outside the branch collar, which is the swell at the base of the branch where it meets the trunk. Cutting the branch collar can damage the tree.
• Cut type: Make small cuts to minimize exposed wood and ensure they don’t retain water
• Branch removal: Prune back to a lateral branch or parent branch that's at least one-third the diameter of the branch being pruned.
• Branch selection: Remove broken, dead, dying, or damaged branches. Establish a dominant leader, lowest permanent branch, scaffold branches, and subordinate temporary branches.
• Please chip and leave remains on site – removal risks spread of disease and letting them decay on site supports health soil.

2. Have you wondered why there are so many acorns lying around?

This is a “mast” year for our Coast Live oaks. Masting is a phenomenon that has been well-known for centuries and describes the observations of variable but synchronous production of acorns and other tree seeds across large geographic areas and is quite common in Northern hardwood forests.

[Put more colloquially: some years are great, all the trees of this species in the area are producing exceptional quantities of fruit, other years are terrible, with very low fruit production and no pattern or way to know when these bumper crops will occur.]

Origin of the term mast comes from farmers who used acorns and other tree seeds to fatten swine and observed vast year-to-year variability in production.

Home Holiday Safety Tips from WFPD

Winter Holiday Safety Tips

Carefully decorating your home can help make your holidays safer. Between 2017-2021, US fire departments responded to an average of 150 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year. US fire departments responded to an estimated average of 793 home structure fires per year that began with decorations, excluding Christmas trees.

Let’s work together to make sure our community stays safe during this time. Check out some helpful tips HERE!

Christmas Tree Disposal

Get rid of the tree after Christmas or when it is dry. Dried-out trees are a fire danger and should not be left in the home or garage, or placed outside against the home.