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Clara County FireSafe Council
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Frequently Asked Questions
Fire Safe Information for Santa Clara County FAQs
1. Where can I find Fire Safe information for Santa Clara County?
2. Where is your booklet Living With Fire in Santa Clara County?
3. How can I learn how to create Defensible Space around my home?
4. Does the Fire Safe Council have any chipping programs for homeowners?
5. Are there any Community Wildfire Protection Plans for Santa Clara County?
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council FAQs
1. What is the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
2. What is the Mission of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
3. Who participates in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
4. Why does Santa Clara County need a FireSafe Council?
5. What does the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council do?
8. How is the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council funded?
Fire Safe Information for Santa Clara County FAQs
1. Where can I find Fire Safe information for Santa Clara County?
The Fire Safe section of our Web site contains information on creating Defensible Space around your home and other Fire Safe information and resources.
2. Where is your booklet Living With Fire in Santa Clara County?
Click here for our 20-page booklet for homeowners, Living With Fire in Santa Clara County.
3. How can I learn how to create Defensible Space around my home?
Living With Fire in Santa Clara County includes a step-by-step guide to create Defensible Space around your home.
4. Does the Fire Safe Council have any chipping programs for homeowners?
Click here for information on our Defensible Space Chipping Programs.
5. Are there any Community Wildfire Protection Plans for Santa Clara County?
Three Community Wildfire Protection Plans have been developed for parts of Santa Clara County.
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Santa Clara County FireSafe Council FAQs
1. What is the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is a non-profit organization composed of individuals, public and private agencies and companies that share a common, vested interest in preventing and reducing losses from wildfires.
2. What is the Mission of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
The mission of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is: “Mobilizing the people of Santa Clara County to protect their homes, communities and environment from wildfires.”
This mission is fulfilled through the combined resources of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and its participating organizations, companies and individuals.
3. Who participates in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council?
The participants in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council are listed on our About Us Page.
4. Why does Santa Clara County need a FireSafe Council?
The communities in Santa Clara County are surrounded by many large, populated, Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas, primarily in the foothills on either side of the Santa Clara Valley.
There are many fire prone areas in Santa Clara County which are at risk of wildfires because they have large accumulations of natural fuels. Many areas in the county are very similar to the Oakland Hills area in Alameda County where a wildland fire in 1991 caused major losses of life and structures. Terrain, vegetation and accessibility conditions in Santa Clara County create the potential for similar events to occur here.
Due to climate change, our moist winters create more fuel, which in turn dries out during the record hot summers. This increase in dry and combustible fuel poses a greater fire risk. This recipe is all too familiar as evident by recent wild fires such as the Croy Fire in 2002 and the Summit Fire in 2008, both of which caused major loss of property and threatened thousands of lives.
Living in
California means learning to live with wildfires. The Santa Clara County
FireSafe Council empowers individuals and communities to make our homes
and neighborhoods “Fire Safe.”
5. What does the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council do?
The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council’s primary programs and projects are:
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Community Outreach and Education Programs: SCFSC volunteers distribute literature and other materials at community events and meetings. Community engagement is an essential part of these programs, which include Youth Education Programs for families and children living in Wildland Urban Interface areas.
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Hazardous Fuel Assessment and Strategy Projects: Our member organizations and other stakeholders identify fire prone areas in Santa Clara County, propose appropriate treatments to reduce the risk of wildfires and develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans. These plans identify fire prone areas in Santa Clara County and appropriate treatments to reduce the risk of wildfires.
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Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects: These are typically clearing and chipping projects, which are based on Community Wildfire Protection Plans and designed to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations. We have six 2010-2011 federal grants for Defensible Space Chipping Programs for homeowners and residents in Santa Clara County.
Please see our Santa Clara County Wildfire Prevention Problems and SCFSC Solutions Fact Sheet for additional information on these activities (PDF File).
6. Is the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council a city or county agency? Do you fight fires? What authority do you have?
The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is simply a non-profit organization incorporated in California. We are a local council of the California State Fire Safe Council.
We are not a city or county agency and we don’t fight fires or have any authority but our members listed above include city and county fire protection agencies and departments, some of which do fight fires and have various authorities.
The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council meets at 2:00 PM on the second Tuesday of each month. Homeowners, residents and representatives of all interested organizations are welcome! Meetings are usually held at fire stations or other members’ facilities. Please see our Meetings Page for the date and location of our next meeting.
There are fire safe councils in most California counties and in some other states. Click here for a list of the Fire Safe Councils in California and then click on the council name for the contact information.
8. How is the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council funded?
The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is partially funded by federal grants from the USDI Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Local matching grants and donations come from foundations, organizations, companies and individuals. All our funding is used in Santa Clara County. We do not receive any funding from, or pay any fees to, the California Fire Safe Council. A list of recent contributors in on our Thank You! Page.
Please see our Donations Page for additional information or to make a tax-deductible donation to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.