VIGNETTE > The Home Front

Fire Station — 1940s

Five days after Pearl Harbor, Mill Valley had its first blackout. The
fourth one came on January 26, 1942 at 6:53 PM—the army had announced the presence of unidentified aircraft 80 miles off the coast. Blackout violators were fined $25. Air raid sirens in Alto and Homestead were part of the Mill Valley system which included nearly sabotage-proof methods of control from the firehouse. On April 15, a cottage in Homestead became a sector post for air raid wardens. Volunteers spent the night there. They were responsible for warning Homestead residents of an air raid. During the day, the local grocer on Linden Lane was responsible. On Sunday, April 17, the Mill Valley area’s 36 Japanese residents (8 families) left on the 6:15 AM bus for Santa Rosa. They and other Japanese from Marin, Sonoma and Napa boarded a train to the Merced assembly center for relocation. In May, Marin was allocated 47,124 gas masks.

Want  more info? Read the History of Homestead Valley article:
The Home Front – 1942