SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE FIREWISE COMMUNITY
PROMOTING WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS ON A COMMUNITY LEVEL
SLP Joins Firewise USA® Program
In 2021, the Santa Lucia Preserve became the 7th community to join the nationally recognized Firewise USA® Program in Monterey County. That number has since doubled over the past six months, with the majority of communities occuring in the Carmel Valley region.
Firewise Community Locations
The Firewise USA® Program provides a collaborative framework to help neighbors in a geographic area get organized, find direction, and take action to increase the ignition resistance of their homes and community and to reduce wildfire risks at the local level.
This program is administered by the NFPA® and is co-sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters.
6 FIREWISE STANDARDS MUST BE MET FOR QUALIFICATION:
- Form a FIREWISE BOARD and disignate a RESIDENTIAL LEADER- takes responsibility for ongoing design and execution of Firewise acctivities in the community.
- Complete a COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT-provide basic information to the community so the Firewise Board can create an action plan.
- Creat an ACTION PLAN- provides its residents with things they can do to lower their wildfire risk.
- Submit an APPLICATION- maintain recognition satatus to acknowledge and encourage ongoing community commitment.
- Hold a FIREWISE DAY EVENT- annual activity that carries out a portion of the community action plan and raises awareness throughout the broader community.
- ONGOING INVESTMENT- a minimum of 1 hour/capita in local wildfire mitigation projects. (Volunteer hours, equipment use, time contributed by agency fire staff, and grant funding can be included)
FIREWISE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
RISK ASSESSMENT
A sample size of 7 homes participated for the community risk assessment , where the Monterey County Regional Fire District's Fire Marshal, Monterey County Firewise Coordinator and the Preserve's Fire & Fuels Management Specialist (who is also the SLP Firewise Residential Leader) joined forces to evaluate our community's strenghts and vulnerabilities to wildfires.
Specifically, the community assessment is a document that paints a picture of the structures (their material and design) in relation to the surrounding vegetation.
From left to right: Emily Aiken (Fire & Fuels Specialist), Kevin Kamnikar (Fire Marshal), and Richard Bates (Monterey County Firewise Coordinator)
Environmental findings were recorded in the SLP's Firewise USA® Wildfire Community Risk Assessment template and used to draft the SLP's Multi-Year Action Plan to reduce site risk from wildfire.
MULTI-YEAR ACTION PLAN
This plan serves as the backbone of our Firewise Community and most importantly, provides doable actions items for community members that will improve the Preserve's wildfire readiness. The action plan has four major categories (continued below):
Slide over an example of a community member maintaining thier defensible space by removing ladder fuels from beneath the oaks below and reducing the potential flame lengths near their home.
A before and after comparison of implimentig a lot-specific fuel management plan at The Preserve.
ACTION PLAN: 4 CATEGORIES
1). EDUCATION
An annual educational outreach event will be held at the Preserve to bring the SLP Firewise community members and neighboring Firewise community members alike together.
Photo: Kate Harris Photography
2). DEFENSIBLE SPACE
Lot-specific fuel management plans are the main avenue for ensuring home ignition resistance/hardening, biodiversity-friendly fuel management, and compliance with the state and local defensible space requirements.
Photo: Emily Aiken
3). WILDFIRE PREPLANNING
The Santa Lucia Preserve has experienced wildfire at its doors in the past. We are taking those lessons learned and are working closely with our local fire agencies on how to best prepare for the next incident.
Photo: Emily Aiken
3). WILDFIRE PREPLANNING (con't)
In cooperation with CAL FIRE and the Santa Lucia Conservancy, we are re-evaluating historical fuel breaks (in orange), with the goal to breath new life into containment lines constructed during the 2016 Soberanes Fire. These containment lines are valuable resources to mount an attack to stop a fire from advancing towards our community and beyond.
Map created by: Emily Aiken
4). FUEL MITIGATION
In collaboration with the Santa Lucia Conserevancy, strategic fuel reduction work has been planned throughout the Preserve. Here in this map, bright green areas represent ongoing fuel reduction work along the major ingress/egress routes of the Preserve and the White Rock Ridge. Prescribed burns, backyard burning, and lot-specific fuel management are also among the types of fuel mitigation that are being recorded through the Firewise USA® Program.
Map created by: Emily Aiken
MAINTAINING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
2 SETS OF WILDFIRE CAMERAS
were recently installed at the Peñon Peak Fire Watch Tower and Hall's Ridge, where the public can access live video feed at any time. If a fire is reported, fire safety personel can access the point, tilt, zoom function of the cameras and keep eyes on it. These cameras have been integral in monitoring nearby fires and confirming smoke checks.
Check out the live feed from one of our cameras below:
AlertCalifornia - Camera Console
CURRENT WILDFIRE MAP
This interactive map monitors real-time fire and weather data in proximity to the Santa Lucia Preserve. Toggle on layers such as Monterey County Fire Protection Districts, High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, State, Federal and Local Responsibility Areas and Historic Burn Scars.
ArcGIS Web Application
FIREWISE BENEFITS
Some insurance providers are offering discounts for Firewise Communites such as:
- Chubb
- State Farm
- Mercury
- AAA
- USAA
- FAIR Plan
Please reach out to your insurance provider and give them a copy of your:
SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE FIREWISE BOARD
Kevin Kamnikar, Monterey County Regional Fire District, Divsion Chief/Fire Marshal
Emily Aiken, SLP Fire & Fuels Management Specialist (SLP Firewise Residential Leader)
David Simpson, SLP Director of Property Operations
Forrest Arthur, SLP COO/General Manager
Aimee Dahle, SLP Executive Assistant to the General Manager
Cameron Darocsy, SLP Design & Construction Services Administrator
