There are five steps to becoming a recognized Firewise USA site.
Wildfire Risk Assessment: Obtaining a written wildfire risk assessment from the state forestry agency or local fire department is the first step in becoming a nationally recognized Firewise site. CAL FIRE is our state liaison. The assessment is for the participating area as a whole, and not for each individual structure.
The assessment includes: general site description; general site information; description of properties within the boundary; description of local wildland fire characteristics; observations on home ignition zones and common/open space areas or adjacent public lands; summary; and recommendations. You can find the assessment document here.
Board/Committee: Form a board or committee that’s composed of residents and wildfire stakeholders. The board or committee will develop the site’s risk reduction priorities, develop the multi-year action plan based on the risk assessment, and oversee implementation of annual renewal requirements to remain in good standing.
Action Plan: A prioritized list of risk reduction projects/investments for the participating site, suggested homeowner actions, and education activities that participants will complete annually or over a period of years. Action plans need to be updated at least every three years.
Educational Outreach: Each site is required to have a minimum of at least one wildfire risk reduction event annually.
Wildfire Risk Reduction Investment: At a minimum, each site is required to annually invest one volunteer hour in wildfire reduction activities for each dwelling unit (e.g., 800 dwelling units equal 800 volunteer hours). Examples of volunteer activities are provided by the NFPA. Each volunteer hour is valued at the national hourly volunteer rate. For examples of wildfire risk reduction activities click here.