 The sky above Tuolumne County was sunny and clear, not a drop of moisture to be found. Temperatures rose quickly, approaching the century mark. This is what the gold country has seen for months, as the folks here endure a third straight year of below normal rainfall. On July 11th, the Governor's Interagency Drought Task Force held its sixth regional meeting with government leaders from the counties of El Dorado, San Joaquin, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mono and Inyo. I'm very encouraged to see the collaborative nature of individuals. Cal OES Director and Drought Task Force Chair Mark Gillarducci listened and learned. They all met at the Tuolumne Emergency Operations Center in Sonora, where the Tuolumne Utilities District enlighten the task force about the challenges they're facing and what they're doing about it. Our community has responded with, right now, we're at 51% reduction in water use. That's big time success on the curtailment front, but on the fire potential front, the gold country is a tinderbox. Grasses, trees, weeds all over Tuolumne County are very low in moisture. And those fuel moistures are getting lower and lower earlier in each season. Not a good sign for Cal Fire Unit Chief Josh White, who has last year's rimfire fresh on his mind. A plane dropping fire retardant on a raging wildfire. This drought could affect his ability to fight any fire that starts. His biggest concern is the air attack base in nearby Columbia. It serves the entire central Sierra. If we can't keep Columbia Air Attack base open, we would have to relocate those initial attack resources. The relocation would take them from their current spot at the Columbia Airport all the way to Castle Air Base. An hour and a half away. The reason for the move would be a lack of water in Pneumolonis Reservoir. Cal Fire only has 50 to 60 days worth of water available. Back over here with these rocks art, we went past there a little bit. But the TUD has been working feverishly and creatively to get ahead of the problem. Principal leaders of the drought task force are all on board for a visit to see first hand how the TUD has responded to their most urgent drought concern. This is the just finished expansion project at Matlow Reservoir. It was built in 1877. Silt has shrunk its size over the years but TUD excavated it, tripling its volume. Before today Matlow could only supply them for three days before they'd have to pump from Pneumolonis. Now this will carry them for three weeks. This will be the secondary source of water when other primary sources aren't available. It's also the kind of accomplishment the drought task force commends and is determined to help make possible in communities across California. And it makes it much easier for myself and my staff to focus on our tactical issues knowing that some of these other issues are going to be handled by others. Here you have a situation where you've got a cooperative effort, a local landowner, a state and federal government, tribal government and local government working with the water districts coming together. They have a challenge presented in front of them and they really think outside the box to find a solution. You know it's not just one way solution. Everybody is working together and I was very encouraged by today's meeting. Cal OES logo, Governor's Office of Emergency Services. For more information Cal OES.ca.gov