May 2024

From Seth Schalet, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council CEO

What’s Old Is New Again

At the start of every May, I always think back to my grade school bus driver, Donald Scott Mackenzie, from 1973 to 1976. He went by Scott, and transferred to Kent State in the fall of 1968 after attending a small college in Iowa for two years. He thought Kent State would be less isolated, offer a more active campus and be closer to his home in Richboro, Pennsylvania, not too far from where I lived. He had a great head of curly brown hair that went past his shoulders, was a super great guy, and had this scar on his face that looked like an hourglass (that is how I remember it).

On May 4, 1970, he had finished a class in Franklin Hall and was walking toward his apartment next to Harbourt Hall when the shooting began. “I was at the far end of the parking lot, observing what was going on. I turned and ran the opposite way. I remember someone saying, ‘Don’t run, they’re only shooting blanks,’” Mackenzie recalls. A second later, a steel-jacketed bullet hit the back of his neck, missing his spine by about half an inch, and exiting out the middle of his left cheek. His jaw was shattered and wired shut for several months while he recuperated over the summer. Four students were killed, and nine wounded. I still think of Scott each May 4th. 

On a lighter note, bringing us to the present, we have much to share in this newsletter. Much has been happening on the insurance front and I have included several articles and presentations you might find informative on this topic. I attended three insurance related events in the last few weeks to keep current on this dynamic issue. On the morning of April 23, I attended The WUI Data Commons: Driving wildfire resilience through data transparency webinar hosted my friend, Nancy Watkins, with Milliman, Frank Frievalt (WUI Fire Institute, Cal Poly), Ian Giammanco (IBHS), Ryan Vigus (CSAA). You can watch the webinar here.

In the afternoon of April 23, I attended the virtual Catastrophic Modeling and Ratemaking Workshop that focused on the proposed regulations for the introduction of “Cat. Modeling” in insurance premium price setting and coverage decisions. I have included the text of the proposed regulations in this newsletter. The recording is not yet posted on the California Department of Insurance’s website but check periodically if you want to listen to the workshop.

On the evening of April 25^th, I attended Senator Josh Becker’s Insurance Town Hall in Hillsborough. It was great to spend time with my friends and FireSafe partners from the Los Altos Hills County Fire District who were also there. I have included links to the presentation materials in the newsletter. 

We recently announced and expanded partnership with Fire Aside, serving as their reseller in San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties to fire service agencies, towns and municipalities, and to all 250 Fire Safe Council in the state. The Palo Alto Online recently ran a story on this and you can find that here.

Amanda Brenner-Cannon

I started out as an environmental science student doing research in Colorado. Living in Colorado, I was very affected by wildfire, and I naturally took a role working in the Fire Adapted Communities field. Public education sparked my passion for working with communities to become more resilient to wildfire. I have worked across the west from Colorado, to Oregon, and now California. As the FireSafe Council's program director, I am dedicated to sharing the tools and knowledge I have gained through my experiences so we can work to protect our communities and forests from the threat of catastrophic wildfire.

Certified Arborist and SCCFSC Project Manager, Irene Armstrong, was recently awarded a Professional Scholarship for the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. She was awarded the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) Scholarship for individuals from underrepresented groups. Check out the Women in Arboriculture website and the Cultivating Competence Conference Website.

Irene is part of our forest health team and authors our regular Tree of the Month. Great work, Irene!

California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)

Some plant adaptations of the California buckeye is that this tree sprouts from the root crown after top-kill by fire. Seeds are not likely to survive fire because they are highly susceptible to heat. California buckeye, recover rapidly following a fire, sending out new shoots during the first growing season due to drawing up resources from fully developed root systems. Learn More

Forest Health Grant has been working with the rain and working when conditions permit. The work has been in Santa Clara County Parks and San Jose Water. Total acreage for April 2024: 29.68 acres. San Jose Water Company: 5 acres, Santa Clara County Parks: 18.84 acres, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District: 5.84 acres

The Loma Prieta Road and Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat Habitat Pilot Project has been awarded to Campbell Forest. The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC), San Jose Water Company (SJW), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) and Santa Clara County Parks (SCCP) have formed a collaborative partnership known as the Los Gatos Watershed Collaborative to implement forest health treatments on approximately 938 acres strategically located throughout the Los Gatos Creek Watershed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The portion of the project for this bid is approximately 79.5 acres, primarily along roadsides. These treatments will thin underbrush and remove dead and dying trees to improve forest health and fire resilience. 5.5 acres of the 79.5 will be for a pilot project for Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat habitat.

For Forest Health Grant Second Collaboration we are working on the planning phases, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and expanded Project Specific Analysis (PSA). Learn More

Chipping Registration is FULL!

Our annual Spring Chipping Program is FULL! There will be a waitlist available if the program reaches capacity. Learn More

The Elena-Fremont ER Project began on April 29th and concluded Thursday, May 2nd. We would like to thank all the residents that submitted ROE's, assisting in making our work that much more impactful. Learn More

La Paloma ER Project is set to start on June 3rd. Remember to fill out your ROE. We have currently bid out a contractor to conduct a thorough bio survey and assess the route for bird nesting, riparian, and dusky footed wood rat nests. There was a Media Release on May 6th, and a Virtual Community Meeting on Tuesday, May 14th. Learn More

On Saturday, May 4th, FSC participated in a Firewise Community Wildfire Preparedness Day in Los Altos Hills. Despite the heavy rains making it difficult to imagine wildfires, Firewise USA Communities came together for an informative and enjoyable event. Throughout the day, presentations covered essential topics such as the availability and affordability of home insurance in California, techniques for home hardening, and creating defensible space.

County Fire has been hosting their Community Wildfire Preparedness 2024 Workshop series this month, see flyer below. The FireSafe Council has attended every event with a resource table and was able to spread wildfire prevention resources to many residents throughout the county.

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