The Coalition of Firewise Communities is composed of representatives from each of our Firewise Communities that have been working hard in their neighborhoods to promote safe practices in a dangerous wildfire environment. We are an all-volunteer organization with no dues and no budget. As part of a well-respected national movement, our individual Firewise Communities are certified through, and supported by, the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County.
The Coalition was created to bring together, on a monthly basis, individual FWCs, both certified and those "in training" (not yet NFPA-certified), to share ideas and information with each other and to amplify the county-wide effort to educate residents on wildfire preparedness.
Our regular meeting time is the first Tuesday of every month at 5:30 pm (unless re-scheduled due to holiday/weather).
Our normal meeting place is Esterly Hall (Nevada County Association of Realtors), 336 Crown Point Circle, Grass Valley, CA 95945. Our meetings are now held on Zoom until we can meet in person again. Join our mailing list to get the Zoom link information.
Officers
Chair - Scott Beesley
Vice Chair -
Secretary - Virginia Gompertz
Technical Support/Communications - Jeff Peach
By Laws
Coalition-Bylaws - Final Approved Mar2021.pdf
Coalition Creation - Press Release December 2017
Chair and Vice Chair Job Description - Coalition-Position-Descriptions.pdf
Join the Nevada County Coalition of Firewise Communities Email List - Stay Informed!
April 6, 2021
Welcome/Opening
Partner Reports
Education Topic: “Home Hardening and Defensible Space” Moderated by Susan Rogers, Steering Committee Member, NCCFWC
Community Forum Next meeting 5:30p May 4 focused on Early Warning Systems |
Who's Who
Acronym Key BLM - Bureau of Land Management CO 2463 - County Ordinance - Hazardous Vegetation - right to extend 100 feet beyond property line and rual road rules 10-10-15 CalFire - California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection DSAV - Defensible Space Advisory Visit EQIP - Environmental Quality Incentives Program FWC - Firewise Community FSC - Fire Safe Council LTO - Licensed Timber Operator OES - Office of Emergency Services PRC 4291 - Public Resource Code concerning 100ft of Defensible Space around homes SAR - Search and Rescue THP - Timber Harvest Plan |
Click here for a Countywide Map of Firewise Communities (also shows In-Training Communities) as of February 2021
The Nevada County website hosts an interactive map showing the current NFPA-recognized Firewise USA® communities (FWC), plus those "In-Training" which are being developed and sponsored through the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County. You can use this interactive GIS map on that website to find out if you're already in a FWC. Read the directions for use below - there are no instructions on the map page.
Directions: Type your home address (or any other address) into the white box on the map and click 'enter'. This will locate and place a dot on the map showing the address location. Each FWC has a different background color - the colors are subtle and can be checked against the Legend to the left. By scrolling out SLOWLY, it will show the names of the FWC and its neighbors. If you scroll out further to the county level, only the colors are shown. Scroll in from the address-dot level and the street name can be seen. "In Training" neighborhoods that are developing their FWC status and have an accepted map are identified with a uniform yellow background.
This section of our website has information and resources for helping the leaders of individual Firewise Communities (FWCs) administer their local FWC.
An alphabetical list of CERTIFIED FIREWISE COMMUNITIES and individual FWCommunity maps can be found on the Fire Safe Council website here: https://www.areyoufiresafe.com/programs/firewise-usa. If you have trouble locating the individual map for your Firewise Community, contact the Fire Safe Council to send a message to Pat Leach, the Firewise Communities Coordinator.
What is an "In Training" Firewise Community? These are neighborhoods that are developing the steps necessary to become a Firewise Community. Many are waiting for their Hazard Assessment to be performed and documented by a qualified fire expert, with funding obtained by the Fire Safe Council (there is no cost to the neighborhood itself). The Community then creates its own 1-to-2 page Action Plan based on the Assessment, and the Fire Safe Council registers the new Firewise Community with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Prior to certification, all "in training" communities are encouraged to act like a certified Firewise Community, have one or more representatives attend monthly Coalition meetings, etc.
Which Fire Agency Provides Protection Services for Your Neighborhood? - Check the map here
Nevada County fire agencies have Joint Services agreements with each other and work closely together to respond to all fire emergencies. However, just ONE of them is officially responsible for your neighborhood. Click the map link above to see which one is yours. You need to know which agency this is, because they are the fire officials who you, as a Firewise Community representative, will be working with on activities to ensure fire safety in your community (for example, with the 30-Day Courtesy Notice to owners of non-compliant properties).
Water Tanks for Fire Suppression: Nevada County Consolidated Fire District has standards for Fire Protection Water Supply Systems. If you want to install a tank for potential use by firefighters (not for personal, home or agricultural water), it must meet the standards.
Nevada County Fire Districts
Grass Valley Fire Department
Higgins Fire Protection District
Nevada City Fire Department
Nevada County Consolidated Fire District
North San Juan Fire District
Ophir Hill Fire Protection District
Peardale-Chicago Park Fire Department
Penn Valley Fire Protection District
Rough & Ready Fire Department
Truckee Fire Protection District
Be Ember Prepared: Will Your House Survive When the Embers Arrive? From the University of Nevada, Reno, a 26-minute video with excellent information and powerful visuals driving home the message that no matter what you might do about defensible space and landscape maintenance, it's the little things in and around your house that could determine if your house burns down (or not). This is the BEST EDUCATION TOOL we've seen so far because of the great visuals and the focus on the dangers of the ember storm that is responsible for most burned homes.
The best information about home hardening (what you need to do in and around your buildings) is from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). These are comprehensive, detailed and based on scientific research. The first one below was a handout from Dr. Kate Wilkin at the December 2019 Coalition meeting. Yes, it's a lot of information but it's all in one place, and it's proven by research performed by people who aren't trying to sell you anything. Download both:
The IBHS has also prepared individual Research Fact Sheets, making it easier to find exactly the home-hardening information you're looking for on these topics: Immediate (noncombustible) Zone; Attic & Crawl Space Vents; Coatings; Decks; Exterior Sprinkler Systems; Fencing; Fire Spread on Ember-Ignited Decks; Roofing Materials; Skylights; and Under-Eave Construction. Here is the Research Fact Sheet Series page on the NFPA Firewise USA website on the NFPA Firewise USA website with links to each PDF.
Early Warning Alerts-Weather & How to Stay Informed 21Feb2021.pdf This one-pager tells you how to check daily wind forecasts, sign up in advance for emergency alerts, and, during an ACTUAL EMERGENCY, how to stay updated and informed (radio, websites, text alerts and other methods for real-time information)
Roadside Clearing Regulations: make your roads safe for firefighters to get IN and for you to get OUT. This unofficial one-page PDF created by the Coalition of Firewise Communities tells you the requirements, in the unincorporated County, City of Grass Valley and Nevada City, for clearing back from the sides of private roads. Diagrams help make it clear. There are three times as many private roads in the County as there are public roads, and the property owners are responsible for meeting these requirements.
Generators: how to decide what kind to buy, pros and cons of the different types, maintenance tips and how to stay safe when using a generator. From the October 2020 Coalition meeting.
What do you do when your 100 feet of defensible space goes onto a neighbor's property? Or onto government land? What if your neighbor refuses to clear her property? The five-page document linked here, "What If Your 100 Feet of Defensible Space Goes Beyond Your Property Line?," tells you how to proceed under different scenarios. Read additional detail on our Rules & Enforcement page.
Prescribed Burn Information
Hub for CA prescribed burns - https://calpba.org/
To get on the email list for upcoming UCCE events go to:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/
Click “Contact”, then “Join Email List” to sign up for notices of training and events
To watch the 2 recorded UCCE sponsored prescribed burning webinars from 2020, go to:
Prescribed fire webinar series in Mariposa county - http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/
Prescribed Fire for Foresters - http://cehumboldt.
That webinar connects to these printed resources:
To get on the contact list for our local Yuba Bear Burn Cooperative contact Jamie Ervin at:
jamie@sierraforestlegacy.org
Presenters' Powerpoints/PDFs from meetings of the Coalition of Firewise Communities:
See this page for presentations given at the All-Nevada County Education Event held online Aug. 4, 2020. See below for other presentations.
Official Sites of public and private wildfire safety organizations, with helpful information
Ready-Set-Go Resources
Videos
Articles
This page has the presentations given at the August 4, 2020 online event organized by the Coalition. The goal was to provide fire preparedness information to all residents of Nevada County Firewise Communities as well as the interested public, since neighborhood meetings are not allowed under COVID-19 restrictions.
Please share a link to this page to as many people as possible.
Here is the Q&A with answers to residents' questions during the meeting about evacuation routes and staging areas, CodeRED and the Emergency Dashboard, and more.
Featured Speakers
What do you do when your 100 feet of defensible space goes onto a neighbor's property? Or onto government land (city park, county open space, national forest, etc.)? Or what if your neighbor refuses to clear her property?
The five-page document linked here, "What If Your 100 Feet of Defensible Space Goes Beyond Your Property Line?," tells you how to proceed under different scenarios, including whether structures (like your house) are involved, whether you are in city limits or in unincorporated county, and more. Step-by-step suggestions for trying to get your neighbors to clear their dangerous parcels are included, plus how to file a complaint that will bring out a County Defensible Space Inspector or a city code enforcement staffer.
BLM Application for Variance Permit to clear BLM land. See "What If Your 100 Feet etc." document above for when you would need this.
This unofficial one-sheet PDF handout from the Coalition of Firewise Communities tells you the requirements, in the unincorporated County, City of Grass Valley and Nevada City, for clearing back from the sides of private roads. Diagrams help make it clear. There are three times as many private roads in the County as there are public roads, and the property owners are responsible for meeting these requirements.
The document described above, "What If Your 100 Feet of Defensible Space etc.", should answer most people's questions and concerns. But if you really want to get into the weeds (bad pun, sorry!), here are the details about local codes and ordinances.
The County of Nevada has a hazardous vegetation ordinance, entitled Nuisance Declared; Duty to Abate Hazardous Vegetation and Combustible Material (Click #7.4) which requires defensible space around habitable structures (100 feet) as well as along roadways 10 feet wide and 15 feet high) beyond the shoulder of roadways (both sides) that serve as primary ingress and egress routes. Here's the County Code for Private Driveway Construction Standards
California has state standard PRC 4291, but its requirements are incorporated into the Nevada County ordinance, so you do not need to consult state standards unless you really want to know exactly what they are. (The definitions of terms used in 4291 are at PRC 4211).
Nevada County Consolidated Fire District has standards for Fire Protection Water Supply Systems. If you want to install a tank for potential use by firefighters (not for personal, home or agricultural water), it must meet the standards.
If you live within the city limits of Grass Valley or Nevada City, the Nevada County vegetation ordinance does not apply to you. The specific weed abatement ordinances are below, but we strongly suggest you read "What If Your 100 Feet of Defensible Space etc.", described at the top of this page. It has a section on all the requirements that are applicable to city residents. These requirements must be met by June 1 of every year (since Mother Nature keeps coming back).
http://www.cityofgrassvalley.com/document-type/municipal-codes Follow this path:
Vegetation Management, Debris Removal and Abatement Regulations
Talking to your neighbors about defensible space - helpful PDF from Fire Safe Council with good tips on getting neighbors to buy into the idea of fire safetyIt's the Law! (pdf from Cascade Shores Firewise Committee)
Link to all Nevada County Ordinances: http://qcode.us/codes/nevadacounty/
Link to all City of Grass Valley Ordinances: https://library.municode.com/ca/grass_valley/codes/code_of_ordinances
Link to all Nevada City Ordinances: https://library.municode.com/ca/nevada_city/codes/code_of_ordinances
Many local residents are facing cancellation of their homeowners insurance. Unfortunately, almost nothing can be done at the local level to help with this problem. This page provides a few resources that might help you figure out your next steps.
You may not know that all local insurance agencies, even those affiliated with the same national brand, are independently owned brokerages that have different relationships with different Surplus Line Insurers (see definition of that below). This means that if one Allstate (for example) agent can't help you, another Allstate agent might be able to. You have to make a lot of phone calls. Call around.
List of Approved Surplus Line Insurers (LASLI)
What does "Surplus Lines" mean? Often called the “safety valve” of the insurance industry, surplus lines insurers (which are usually non-admitted carriers, see below) fill the need for coverage in the marketplace by insuring those risks that are declined by the standard underwriting and pricing processes of admitted insurance carriers.
Admitted vs Non-Admitted Insurance Company - what does that mean? PDF
Website of the California Fair Plan - insurer of last resort.
Watch this video of the town hall held in Grass Valley on August 23, 2019 with state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, which has helpful information for those who are being non-renewed. To avoid local politician's opening remarks, skip to the 6-minute mark to start watching.
As of early 2021, Commissioner Lara has made progress in providing resources relative to wildfire and insurance concerns. Here is the website page for Wildfire Response and Readiness on the California Department of Insurance website.
The following relates to Coalition activities only -- not helpful for individual residents
Insurance Questionnaire PDF For Coalition Survey
Insurance Questionnaire Word (Type directly onto document and return to Bob as attachment)
Fire Threat Areas - Map from the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
Everyone in Nevada County needs to speak out about the need for safer evacuation routes along state highways.
Read MoreThe Nevada County Coalition of Firewise Communities (the website where you are now) and the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County are two separate organizations. The Coalition's About Us page has information on our all-volunteer organization.
The Fire Safe Council of Nevada County is a public benefit, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation with paid staff and a board of directors, formed in 1998 by citizens concerned about the very high potential for catastrophic wildfire in our communities and adjacent forestland.Track chipper available from Fire Safe CouncilThe Fire Safe Council supports and assists in the formation of individual Firewise Communities (FWCs), and manages the certification (and re-certification) of all FWCs through the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA). It pays for the Coalition's Zoom account during the pandemic, and pays for the Coalition website.
Coalition meetings always have one or two representatives of the Fire Safe Council in attendance. The Coalition works together closely with the Council to advance fire safety efforts in Nevada County.
The Council's office has a wealth of literature from various fire agencies that will help homeowners on virtually any wild-fire related topic. They offer a chipping program, a Special Needs Assistance Program for low-income elderly and disabled, and other services.
Visit the Fire Safe Council website. The Council's phone number is (530) 272-1122, and their address is 143 B Spring Hill Drive, Suite 13, Grass Valley, CA 95945. Check their website for office hours. Park in the spaces marked with white letters "OCS" at the edge of the lot facing Spring Hill Drive. Many spaces directly in front of their office are marked/reserved for other businesses .
Sign up for Alerts about when PGE will turn off power. Register for power shut off notifications here.
Manage Trees and Plants Near Powerlines
PG&E Community Wildfire Safety Program - Information on the PGE - COMMUNITY WILDFIRE SAFETY PROGRAM - Working together to create fire defense zones around power lines.
Contact - Joanne Drummond, local PG&E representative for the Community Wildfire Safety Program
Joanne Drummond
Vegetation Program Manager, CEMA - Fuels Reduction
Joanne.Drummond@pge.com | Office (530) 889-3166 | Cell (530) 510-1064
Articles about PGE
This page has information and resources for helping the leaders of individual Firewise Communities (FWCs) administer their local FWC.
Reporting
Is there a "problem" property in your FWC, a neighbor (or absentee owner) who doesn't comply with required county or city abatement ordinances? Try using this: 30-Day Courtesy Notice Program: Resources for Implementing. Download and read both documents linked below. This has been successfully used in numerous Firewise Communities to convince owners of "dirty" properties that they need to come into compliance with the law.
Generic 30 Day Notice MS Word
30 Day Notice Guidelines Making the "30 Day Notice" program work - MS Word
Communication with your FWC Residents
Newsletter - this generic newsletter, created by Marty Main, can be used by any Firewise Community to help educate your residents.
How Do Other FWCs Communicate With Their Residents? - a PDF summary of 36 Firewise communitiesthat responded to a survey asking about the methods, frequency and effectiveness of communicating firewise messages to their member households, as of November 2019. Gives you a good idea of what others are doing (email, newsletters, etc.) and the challenges they are facing.
Names of the rep who filled out the survey are included, but contact information is not provided for privacy reasons. If you want to contact a rep, please use the "Contact the Coalition" form on this website to request his or her phone and email.
Common Findings From Firewise Hazard Assessments Powerpoint presented at October 2019 Coalition meeting (with photos) converted to PDF - Fire scientist Jo Ann Fites-Kaufman described the many problems she sees when she evaluates in-training Firewise Communities for their NFPA certification. Does your FWC have these problems?
Evacuation Signage PDF - a non-official way your residents can use signs to tell law enforcement that they have either already evacuated OR that they need help. Note: as of July 2020, the County Sheriff's office is giving away similar tags for use in the unincorporated county.
Shovel Ready Projects - Checklist. Gives you a basic idea of what's needed if your neighborhood has a large project that requires funding to get it done. "Shovel ready" means that if it were to get funded, you could almost immediately put a shovel in the ground and start, because you've already figured out (and obtained) the permits or permissions needed, gotten bids from contractors, etc. Helps document your project so that it can be "bundled" with other projects in grant-funding proposals by the Fire Safe Council.
Guidelines for Websites for individual FWCs: If your Firewise Community is able to create and maintain your own website:
Enforcement Document Action Plan - Formally adopted by coalition vote, February 27, 2018
Evacuation Document Action Plan - Formally adopted by coalition vote, February 27, 2018
Emergency Alert Buddy SystemPDF
Emergency Alert Buddy System Word (For editing to accommodate your FWC)
Emergency Alert Buddy System PowerPoint - Virginia Gompertz - Lake Wildwood