CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has presented a $75,000 check to the Lake Area Rotary Club Association for an important local safety project.

PG&E’s Kevin Dasso, vice president of electric asset management, announced the company’s support for the project during the Clearlake City Council meeting on Thursday night.

“Years of drought, extreme heat and more than 129 million dead and dying trees have created a ‘new normal’ for our state, and we want to work together with our communities to be sure we are
continually adapting to meet these challenges. Unfortunately, no community has experienced this new normal more consistently than Lake County,” said Dasso, as he addressed council members.

Dasso said the funds will go toward improving response capability and strengthening the community’s resilience.

To that end, Lake Area Rotary Club Association, or LARCA, said the funds will be used to purchase a generator for Clearlake’s senior and community center, which during the county’s wildland fires has served as an emergency evacuation shelter.

“I’m just elated. We have been fundraising for several years to get the money to purchase and install a backup generator as well as showers and other necessities for the community senior center and now with PG&E’s donation, it’s finally going to happen.This means a lot to the city of Clearlake,” said Russ Cremer with the Lake Area Rotary Club Association.

Lake County has experienced five large wildfires in the past four years, all of which destroyed structures and required evacuations.

During these fires, the Clearlake Community Senior Center was open to evacuees as an emergency shelter. Given its proximity to the fires, the center lost power during two of those emergencies.

The community has been working on a solution for future emergencies – including purchasing a backup generator.

The generator will enable the community to have a fully-functioning emergency shelter in Clearlake, officials said.

“The community has welcomed us with open arms and the out-of-town crews who supplemented our local response to the recent wildfires have come away with such an appreciation for the beauty of this place and the kindness of the people here,” added Dasso.

PG&E said the donation is part of its larger strategy to assist communities in confronting the consequences of climate change.

That strategy was announced in late 2017 along with a $1 million shareholder contribution to the California Climate Challenge, a new corporate-giving initiative dedicated to helping communities prepare for, withstand and recover from extreme events caused by climate change.

The strategy has three major pillars:

– Respond: PG&E will work to support the effectiveness of first responders in both preventing and combating wildfires.

– Rebuild: PG&E will support fire-impacted communities and help them restore and rebuild what’s been lost for as long as it takes.

– Resilience: PG&E will support California’s efforts to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, including infrastructure resiliency.

Also this week, PG&E announced its Community Wildfire Safety Program, a comprehensive effort in conjunction with first responders, civic and community leaders and customers to reduce
wildfire threats and improve safety.

For details on the new program as well as information on how PG&E is helping with rebuilding efforts in the areas impacted by the Northern California wildfires, visit www.pgecommitment.com.