Save the date!

We will have a town hall meeting on December 8^th from 6pm-8pm at the Alta Sierra Country Club to answer questions or concerns property owners might have.

The South County Project, a priority fuel reduction project in the Nevada County Community Wildfire Prevention Plan. This project was also recently identified by CAL FIRE as a top priority to protect one of California’s most wildfire-vulnerable communities.

This opportunity is available at no-cost to property owners within the South County Project area who choose to participate.

The shaded fuel break defense zone will not remove all vegetation and is not intended to prevent the spread of wildfire entirely. The defense zone is designed to slow the spread of fire and provide a safe and effective location for evacuation and fire suppression activities, including the staging of ground resources for direct fire attack.

Read about the initial project announcement here.

It is officially fall and now is a great time to start planning how to tackle defensible space around your home. Need help reaching your goals?

There is still time for qualifying individuals to apply for free defensible space services through the access and functional needs (AFN) program.

This program is being funded and managed in cooperation with County of Nevada, CA California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency and The Fire Safe Council of Nevada County.

Go here for more information or give us a call!

Click here for more information, or give us a call 530-272-1122.

Happy Thanksgiving Neighbors,

The annual data upload for the renewing Firewise Community’s private portal is fast approaching – November 18^th. So please do your best to collect the information from your community members and upload it for your continued participation in the program.

In speaking with the folks at NFPA, due in part to California being the first state in the nation to require insurance premium discounts for owners of homes and businesses that are made safer from wildfires, the Firewise USA® program application process will become more rigorous.

Plus, to maintain the “In Good Standing” designation, Firewise Communities will need to engage a better percentage of neighbors - Cal Fire is the approving agency for all California Firewise USA® Communities and they review each application. Click to see the Safer From Wildfires framework. The data points you collect and upload to your private portal are critical to the understanding the extent of education of your neighbors, evacuation preparedness, successful fuels reduction, collaboration across the landscape, and identifying hazardous locations

Fortunately, in Nevada County, Firewise USA® communities have a strong relationship with the many partners that also focus on fire resilient tactics. You all have been doing a fine job and we at the Fire Safe Council are very grateful for your efforts. But there is always room for improvement.

Speaking of insurance, per NFPA, if insurance agents ask for your Firewise Community’s “number” to receive a discount, please let them know there is no number useful for these agencies. They can ask for the In-Good-Standing Certificate or look up the address at: https://www.mynevadacounty.com/2782/Organize-Your-Neighborhood . NFPA however is currently working to have insurance companies use Verisk, or similar, to confirm active participation by a Firewise USA® Community.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for all the efforts made by our Firewise Community members and in particular the gracious Leaders who are such a joy to assist.

Hau’oli la Ho’omaika’I,

Pat Leach

FWC@AreYouFireSafe.com

FWC@AreYouFireSafe.com