Yuba Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council can help you!

Join with your neighbors to become better protected from Wildfire. Become a FireWise USA Site. Yuba Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council has money available to pay for your professionally designed Fire Hazard and Risk Assessment as well as a personal Wildfire Mitigation Review by volunteer advisors. For more information or to schedule a site visit, contact:

Steve Andrews at 530-913-6455 or Sandrews@yubafiresafe.org

There are currently over 1500 Certified Firewise USA Sites (formerly referred to as Firewise Communities) throughout the United States. A “Site” can be as few as 8 residences and no more than 2500. A “Site” can be a street, a subdivision, a homeowner association, or other geographical area, as determined by the residents.

The YWP&FSC aims to likewise create our own groundswell of community activism that will help neighbors harden their home, create defensible space, and create fire-resistant neighborhoods.

The NFPA and Firewise USA recently posted a success story that illustrates how a Firewise Site aided firefighter’s efforts in containing a large wildfire in the Durango, CO area. Click here to see the story.

Specific steps for becoming a Firewise USA Site are outlined below:

1. YWP&FSC and fire agency partners will train volunteer Wildfire Mitigation Advisors.
2. Resident to request a Defensible Space Advisor visit from the Fire Safe Council (YWP&FSC).
3. Neighbors, with assistance from YWP&FSC, if necessary, will work together to form a Neighborhood Committee.
4. The committee, together with the YWP&FSC, will identify boundaries of their Site. YWP&FSC, or contractor, will provide a GIS generated Site Map. Minimum of 8 single-family residences.
5. A Registered Professional Forester or Fire Scientist will prepare a Community Hazard & Risk Assessment and Individual Home Assessments.
6. The committee will develop an Action Plan (3-5 year).
7. The Site residents will work on the Action Plan Goals and will meet at least one time per year.
8. YWP&FSC will register the Site with NFPA and submit the Hazard & Risk
9. The NFPA will certify the Site!

The action plan is a living document. Each board/committee will develop an action plan – a prioritized list of risk reduction projects/investments for the participating site, along with suggested homeowner actions and education activities that participants will strive to complete annually, or over a period of multiple years. Action plans should be updated at a minimum of every three years.