Mill Valley has spent years preparing for fire season. Here is where things stand.

What's happening: The hills surrounding Mill Valley have turned yellow. This year's forecast gives fire professionals more reason for concern than usual.

A wet winter that filled reservoirs also loaded the hillsides with vegetation that will cure and dry as the season turns. According to the California Department of Water Resources, California's snowpack closed out winter at 18% of average statewide, just 6% in the northern Sierra. Without snowpack acting as time-released irrigation after the rains stop, vegetation cures earlier than usual.

The National Interagency Fire Center's May outlook projects above-normal significant fire potential for Northern California through the summer, intensifying from July onward. A developing El Niño adds another variable. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center puts the probability of El Niño emerging at 82% this summer, continuing through winter. Forecasters expect the practical consequence for Mill Valley to be reduced marine layer depth through the summer. The fog that buffers afternoon temperatures along the coast, and moderates the conditions under which fires ignite and spread, will be thinner and less reliable during the months that matter most.

Why it matters: Mill Valley sits inside what fire professionals call the wildland-urban interface. The community was largely built out in the early 1900s, when the roads were designed for vehicles the size of Model A's. According to Jason Weber, Fire Chief of Marin County Fire, speaking at a May 2 public forum, the southern Marin zone has steeper terrain, heavier fuels and narrower roads than most of the county. According to Weber, fire seasons are now measurably longer than they used to be. There is no longer an off-season. The Palisades and Eaton fires of January 2025, which destroyed thousands of structures in Los Angeles, reinforced what fire professionals had long argued: a major fire can start any month of the year.

The context: What has changed since Palisades is significant. The Greater Mill Valley Fuel Break was approved by the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) in August 2025 and crews began work in September. The project targets French broom, an invasive shrub with bright yellow flowers that contains oils and resins making it among the most flammable plants on the landscape. Dense broom stands reach 10 feet tall and act as ladder fuels, carrying a ground fire into the tree canopy.

SMFD Deputy Fire Marshal Marshall Nau told the Briefing that crews added approximately 2.35 miles of new or freshly treated fuel break in 2025-2026 within the Greater Mill Valley Fuel Break project area, on top of 2.2 miles of annually maintained areas within the project footprint. This summer's work is expected to bring the total to between 7.57 and 8.57 miles of treated and maintained fuel break. Nau noted that the full perimeter of the treatment area spans 23 miles, but only 11 to 13 miles of linear treatment is needed to fully encircle the city. At current pace, and by the Briefing's calculation, that puts the project at nearly 70% of its goal.

Completed work covers the Scott Valley and Escalon Fire Road corridor, including areas north of Horse Hill near the Scott Valley Swim and Tennis Club, within Camino Alto Open Space Preserve and within Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve. This summer's work expands into Octopus Fire Road and along Blithedale Ridge. "Connecting previous fuel treatment areas to establish a continuous fuel break across Mill Valley is the ongoing effort," Anne Crealock, MWPA's Planning and Program Manager, told the Briefing.

This work builds on years of earlier treatment. MWPA approved two predecessor projects in 2021 and 2022, covering a combined 70 acres on the most exposed hillside terrain including Summit Drive and Ralston Avenue. Both are complete and have since been absorbed into the current effort. The fuel break underway now is not a post-Palisades reaction. It is the scaling up of work that was already proven locally.

The debate: The fuel break does not stop fires. It changes fire behavior. The distinction matters. Mark Brown, MWPA Executive Director, framed it at the May 2 forum: treated areas slow the rate of spread, reduce intensity and decrease ember production. By slowing a fire down, residents get more time to evacuate. By reducing intensity, the environment they evacuate through becomes safer. By reducing embers, homes have a better chance of surviving.

According to Brown, 93% of roads in Marin County are survivable in a vehicle with fire on both sides of the road, a countywide figure Brown presented at the May 2 public forum. The instruction from emergency managers is direct: stay in your car. Evacuate early. Do not wait.

According to SMFD, the district conducts over 4,400 home defensible space inspections per year across the district, with roughly 1,500 of those in Mill Valley annually. MWPA reports that more than 60% of Marin residents who received an inspection report took action on their property. MWPA describes its inspection program, cited by the Climate Wildfire Institute as the gold standard nationally, as having conducted over 150,000 inspections countywide.

What's next: The Mill Valley Police Department is planning a functional evacuation drill focused on the Scott Valley area of Mill Valley later this year, according to EPC meeting records. A date has not been confirmed. The city has hired two part-time Neighborhood Response Group Coordinators, Kevin Ritchie and Michele Grant, who will begin recruiting resident volunteers door to door, starting with the community's most vulnerable neighborhoods, EPC Chair Leah Curtis told the Briefing. Residents can learn more at southernmarinnrg.org. Marin County's updated emergency operations plan is expected to be public in June, followed by updated countywide evacuation planning.

Although Mill Valley experiences a coastal influence year-round, including fog and higher humidity, there is still a warm and dry period each year that all residents need to be aware of, Deputy Fire Marshal Nau told the Briefing. The late summer into early fall often brings higher winds and extended drying events. Leaves and stressed plantings can create a late-season fire hazard that was not present at the start of fire season.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center publishes its next El Niño diagnostic on June 11. That update will clarify how strong a signal residents should expect this summer. Whatever it shows, the hills outside your window right now are telling part of the story already.

What to do before July

On June 10, 1970, Reprise Records released "Mill Valley" by Rita Abrams and the Strawberry Point third grade. Within weeks it was on the Billboard Hot 100, on Armed Forces Radio in Vietnam, and on radio stations in countries Rita had never visited. It had been written five months earlier in an afternoon, on a bench, by a 26-year-old kindergarten teacher from Cleveland who had barely heard of the place before she moved here.

Rita Abrams drove into Mill Valley in 1968 on one cylinder of a Volkswagen bus, having picked the town off a map. On Christmas morning 1969 she walked through downtown alone. "I walked along in sort of a haze of contentment and peacefulness," she recalled in an oral history recorded that August in 1970. She sat down on a bench by the bus depot and began writing. The song described what she found: a mountain that belonged to everyone, creeks running endlessly, people who weren't afraid to smile and stop and talk. And a last line she couldn't have known would one day follow her: "How could I leave Mill Valley?"

She met producer Eric Jacobson at a party, played him the demo, and he said: "I like it, let's do it." The third grade recorded it in a San Francisco studio. Warner Brothers executives stood up when they heard the children sing the first chorus. The record was rushed to release. When Jack Carney at KSFO called the school ten minutes before playing it on air, the building, Rita recalled, "went into absolute chaos and pandemonium."

Fifty thousand records sold in the first months. Letters arrived from everywhere: a boy in a Midwest reformatory for whom the song was his only tie with home, a Vietnam soldier who heard it on Armed Forces Radio, a girl in a violent household in Santa Clara who locked herself in a closet with a portable turntable and played the 45 over and over. Fifty-five years later they still come. "It was a total, unadulterated miracle the way the whole thing happened," Rita told the Briefing. "Totally amazes me that it's still alive."

In 1970 she told the oral history interviewer she had found the place she wanted to call home. In 2014, she put her Mill Valley condo on the market. "The last line of the song is, 'How could I leave Mill Valley?'" she told KQED. "And here I am, leaving Mill Valley and not wanting to." She was clear-eyed about what it meant: "There are an awful lot of people who would love to live in Mill Valley who can't afford to, and I'm probably one of them now."

Mill Valley School District's Measure E parcel tax was passing with 71.91% support as of Thursday's county update, above the two-thirds threshold it needs. The count showed 4,300 votes in favor and 1,680 against.

The count is far from complete. The Measure E campaign says the 5,980 ballots counted represent 44% of the roughly 14,000 it expects. About 19,000 voters cast ballots on Measure E in November 2016, but that was a general election when turnout runs much higher.

At Thursday's school board meeting, Natalie Katz, President of the Board of Trustees, said she would not call the result until the count is complete and certified, but she said the community "reinforced that they want to come and show up for something that they value which is quality public education."

The county's next updates are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The earliest certification date is June 26, according to Marin election officials. The daily Briefing will track the vote count through the week. Upgrade here to get those updates to your inbox.

From Monday's City Council meeting

🏠 Mill Valley cut its affordable housing requirement from 25% to 15% for most new apartment projects, a change supporters say will spur construction after nearly a decade with almost no new multi-family housing built in town.

💧 The council approved a 4% annual sewer rate increase through 2031, with nine written protests filed out of 5,238 parcels receiving service.

💵 Council members will receive their first pay raise since 2007, with the monthly stipend rising from $350 to $650. The council also directed staff to explore extending childcare and dependent care reimbursements to city board and commission members.

🏗️ The Mill Valley School District outlined plans to break ground June 15 on an interim campus at the Middle School, with students expected to move into 29 portable classrooms in January 2027 during a renovation projected to finish in early 2029.

🌲 City Manager Todd Cusimano acknowledged the city cannot legally block PG&E's tree removal work, but offered to facilitate a community workshop after residents raised concerns at the meeting.

Mon, Jun 08 – Bandworks - Live. Learn. Rock., Sweetwater, 6pm. Catch a high-energy evening showcase of incredible young local talent as student ensembles take the historic main stage. All ages welcome; doors open at 5pm.

Tue, Jun 09 – Author Talk: Lerone Martin on MLK, Mill Valley Library Creekside Room, 6:30 to 7:30pm. Join preeminent King scholar Lerone Martin alongside Laura Stivers for an insightful look into the man, minister, and civil rights icon who changed the world. Registration required.

Tue, Jun 09 – Open Mic Night with Matt Jaffe, Sweetwater, 7pm. Local performers get 2 songs or 10 minutes to share their music on the historic stage. Sign-up via email to [email protected] between 6pm Monday and 3pm Tuesday; performance confirmations are sent out by 5pm. A bass amp, guitar amp, drums, and piano are provided.

Tue, Jun 09 – Tuesday Night Comedy, Throckmorton Theatre, 8 to 10pm. The legendary weekly stand-up showcase continues with a fresh, rotating professional lineup of rising talent and veteran comics. Doors open at 7:30pm.

Wed, Jun 10 – Noon Concert: Black Cedar Trio, Throckmorton Theatre, 12 to 1pm. Take a midday musical break for an exceptional live acoustic lunchtime performance featuring the virtuosic woodwind and string arrangements of the Black Cedar Trio.

Wed, Jun 10 – Dipsea Clean-Up!, Bottom of the first Dipsea stairs, 5:45pm. Break out your brooms and help the San Francisco Running Company with their monthly trail clean-up session ahead of the big race. All are welcome to join.

Wed, Jun 10 – Dogs In A Pile, The Junction, 7pm. This eclectic quintet delivers a transportive, high-vibe outdoor set merging funk, jazz, and rock-and-roll with kaleidoscopic psychedelia. All ages welcome; $35 advance / $41 day of show.

Wed, Jun 10 – Third World, Sweetwater, 8pm. One of the most long-lived and widely revered reggae bands of all time takes the stage to blend classic Jamaican roots reggae with elements of pop, R&B, and funk. All ages; doors open at 7pm.

Thu, Jun 11 – A Communal Experience of Marin Lately, Sweetwater, 8pm. Join author Patrick Heij for an absurd yet potentially enjoyable evening in Marin’s most important town.™ All ages welcome; doors open at 7pm. (Note: Sold out).

Fri, Jun 12 – 115th Dipsea Race Historical Exhibition, Epicenter Cycling (Old Wells Fargo Building), 10am to 6pm. In honor of the upcoming race, the Mill Valley Historical Society exhibits 121 years of running history in downtown Mill Valley. Stop by to check out historic trophies dating back to 1912, mid-century race programs, and archival race footage from the 1980s, '90s, and '00s. (Runs daily Friday through Sunday).

Fri, Jun 12 – The Samples, Sweetwater, 8pm. The iconic Colorado-born pop-rock band returns to 19 Corte Madera Ave, delivering their signature blend of reggae-influenced rock, folk melodies, and exploratory jam grooves. All ages; doors open at 7pm. Advance tickets are $44.81 (plus fees).

Sat, Jun 13 – 5th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival, Mill Valley Downtown Plaza, 11am to 3pm. Hosted by Mill Valley Recreation and the City, this vibrant, free community-wide celebration honors the rich history of Juneteenth with live musical entertainment, food vendors, diverse cultural showcases, and local festivities.

Sat, Jun 13 – June Maker’s Market, Mill Valley Lumber Yard, 11am to 5pm. Head over to 129 Miller Ave to spend the afternoon browsing a curated outdoor collection of independent local artisans, jewelry makers, regional craftspeople, and live music.

Sat, Jun 13 – Dan Soder, Throckmorton Theatre, 7pm and 9:30pm. Catch two separate stand-up sets from the brilliant comedian and actor (HBO's Son of a Gary, Showtime's Billions) as he hits Mill Valley on his national theater tour ahead of filming his upcoming Netflix special.

Sat, Jun 13 – Hall Pass, Sweetwater, 8pm. The ultimate local rock-and-roll party covering high-energy danceable hits and driving classic rock anthems to cap off your Saturday night. All ages; doors open at 7pm.

Sun, Jun 14 – 115th Annual Dipsea Race, Starts in Downtown Mill Valley, 8am. The legendary, grueling trail race returns for its 115th running. Competitors hit the trail early for one of the oldest and most iconic footraces in the country.

🔍 Businesses and venues mentioned in this section are covered on editorial merit only. No business has paid for coverage. Promotional content is always labeled.

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The theme music for our new podcast is currently being composed by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the direction of Mill Valley native, Tam High graduate and Acting Executive Director Matt Levine. I can’t wait to share the first episode with you here soon.

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