Kevin Marini, UCCE Placer/Nevada Community Education Specialist
Got questions? Reach out to me: krmarini@ucdavis.edu
Over the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to many groups throughout Placer County, including Firewise Communities, Garden Clubs, Civic Organizations, Real Estate offices, and more! I am especially impressed by the organizational capabilities of our Firewise Communities and the participation I’m seeing out there among neighbors. As we enter into the time of year that defensible space work on our properties kicks into high gear, don’t hesitate to use me as a resource!
Here are some things I have helped folks with over the past 2 years:
Understanding the Defensible Space zones: State and local laws, plant flammability, organizing a landscape for fire resilience and prioritizing defensible space work.
Mulch: What types to use and how to use wisely in the landscape.
Pruning: As a Certified Arborist and expert “Fine Pruner,” I teach pruning basics to homeowners, so they understand the relationship between pruning practices and response growth of plants. Pruning correctly is a crucial practice for landscape fire safety! Hedging or shearing plants creates “ember catchers”!
Transplanting Mature Shrubs and Trees: Due to insurance requests, many people are faced with moving plants, shrubs, and trees they hold dear and don’t want to lose. There is a
specific horticultural technique to doing this to maximize your chances of success: it begins in Spring and ends in Fall when the transplanting occurs.
Avoiding Invasive Plants: In the quest for defensible space, some homeowners are led to believe that clearing their entire property of vegetation is desirable when, in fact, it is the worst thing you can do without careful consideration. We are inundated with invasive plants in Placer County and creating a wide-open space for their colonization is not a wise way forward, as most indiscriminate clearing creates a worse fire risk than the original vegetation removed.
Katie Low, UC ANR Fire Network Coordinator
For questions about the tool, please contact Katie Low: katlow@ucanr.edu
UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and Placer County OES are excited to introduce the Placer County Firewise Community Volunteer Reporting Tool!
This free tool is designed for Firewise Community members and leaders to digitally report their volunteer hours and activities in real time. The survey tool is a digital version of the volunteer hourly worksheet from NFPA. It provides residents with a straightforward way to report their volunteer hours, even allowing residents to report multiple entries per day. This tool can also assist Firewise Community leaders when reporting is due; UCCE will compile all the data for your community for the year and send it to you in a summarized format. The survey tool will also store the data indefinitely, allowing communities to track changes in volunteer investments and activities over time. These can be useful metrics for Fire Safe Councils and Firewise Communities to use in grant applications or reports.
UCCE sees this as an opportunity to better connect with and serve the residents of Placer County. We also plan on using the information gathered to develop and deliver more tailored fire-related workshops and trainings to communities in Placer County. Note: all information submitted to this survey will only be used by Firewise Community leads for NFPA-related reporting and by UUCCE and local partners for internal use and planning only.
Your personal information and/or individual residential activities will not be shared without your consent.
The survey tool is run through ArcGIS Survey123. To access the tool, you can click HERE (under the “Report Investment and Vegetation Removed” section).
This survey can be completed on your computer, smartphone, or tablet – you just need access to the internet. You do not need to create an ESRI account, you can click “continue without signing in” to access the survey.
The survey will take about five minutes to complete. To watch a tutorial about how to use the tool, click HERE.
Jacqui Manning, Firewise Regional Coordinator
The borders of the Church Street Firewise Community encompass the Historical Foresthill Community Cemetery, and each year, the community unites to prepare for the Luminary event on Halloween night.
This year, in celebration of the 30th annual cleanup, the volunteers did an outstanding job! Families from Roseville, Sacramento, Auburn, and Foresthill collaborated for three hours of dedicated work, successfully filling an entire green waste dumpster.
On Halloween, the cemetery hosted its 21st annual Luminary event, which was a resounding success. The event featured storytelling, trick-or-treat activities, and beautiful luminaries placed throughout the headstones.
This initiative supports the community's efforts to raise funds for cemetery maintenance.
Jacqui Manning, Firewise Regional Coordinator
Firewise renewal applications are due November 22! Have you completed your application yet? If not, please review our Firewise Renewal Handbook. If you have any questions, please contact us at fireready@placer.ca.gov
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