For so many of us, learning how to live with on-going wildfire threat can be overwhelming.
Coming together as a community to prepare for fire and other emergencies is crucial – not only to protect ourselves, our homes, and our fellow neighbors, but also to remember we can exercise agency and mobilize relationships, especially in times of on-going uncertainty about wildfire that can leave us feeling helpless.
Contra Costa Resource Conservation District (CCRCD) staff work together with local communities to identify wildfire safety concerns, build partnerships with local agencies, and develop strategies and approaches to reduce risks that are specific to each community.
Here’s an inspiring story of how one Wildland-Urban-Interface (WUI) neighborhood in a very high fire hazard severity area in El Sobrante, California is mobilizing to prepare for wildfire and evacuation.
Key steps for organizing neighbors to address wildfire threats together
By Erica Peng, Co-leader, Kennedy Grove Neighbors Firewise Community
While every community is different, I hope that sharing some of the key steps our neighborhood has taken to get started on becoming a Firewise* community will provide helpful ideas, lessons learned, and inspiration for efforts in your own neighborhood.
[*Note: Firewise is a program of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that provides simple steps to help communities identify wildfire risks and take actions to prepare for and reduce potential damage from wildfire.]
Perhaps even more important than getting started, I’ll also share what it’s required to build and sustain momentum over the last 2 years.
First, here’s some context about what prompted a core group to get started.
I and many neighbors chose this neighborhood because it’s surrounded by open space and natural beauty, including San Pablo Reservoir. I’ve often described Kennedy Grove Park as “the hidden gem of the Bay Area,” with miles of walking trails through gorgeous old oak and bay trees. But now these surroundings have become a reason we now worry about wildfire danger almost year-round.
Beyond the brown house is Kennedy Grove Park and the San Pablo Reservoir watershed.
I still consider myself lucky to have a creek flowing through my backyard and miles of walking trails just minutes away. But now I am very aware of so many fire hazards. The creek corridor is full of flammable vegetation.
And the open space is thousands of acres of dense, fire-suppressed woodlands with large stands of eucalyptus and dead/dying pines. Over half the homes share a property boundary with the park district or the County, and the nearby watershed land is managed by EBMUD.
Our safety is tied to how these multiple agencies manage their land that borders us, which makes preparing for wildfire more complex and challenging.
Before diving into how we began getting organized as a neighborhood to address wildfire threat, I’ll first start with something inspiring as an example of what’s possible – the culmination of 2 years of planning meetings, emails, flyers, and activities all focused on educating neighbors and providing help to build interest and momentum.
Coming together to work on a neighborhood project built goodwill and momentum early in the fire season – and we removed huge amounts of flammable vegetation that were a hazard to homes and the whole neighborhood!
These workdays are a strategy to reduce fuel and increase community involvement from an AIM grant proposal I co-wrote with Alejandro Anasal, former CCRCD Wildfire Conservation Coordinator. We were disappointed that our first application wasn’t approved, but our second proposal was awarded 75k in March 2024!
Here’s what neighbors accomplished in a total of 6 hours on 2 workdays.
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There were a number of curious people (not from the neighborhood) passing by on their way to the park. A perfect moment to share about Firewise and how neighbors are working together to help each other clear fire hazards. Everyone I spoke to was impressed and interested in doing something like this where they live.
This group of neighbors (whose ages span 60 years!) all live on a quiet cul-de-sac but the workday was the first time they worked on a neighborhood project together.
Feelin’ good after helping a neighbor.
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This site is on the corner of our street and a busy road. We made sure to have cones out and a neighbor with a safety jacket slowing cars down!
I happened to stop by a new neighbor’s place to introduce myself the day before our workday. I explained a bit about our Firewise efforts, mentioned the workday, and asked if he had any plants close to the house he’d like help removing.
I was surprised when he responded with a big, “YES!” He said it had been difficult getting homeowner’s insurance and removing the massive juniper within 5 feet of his house would help. “Anything you think should be removed, you can do it!”
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It was a tight space so it was also a good opportunity for a group of neighbors to work something out together for the first time!
Come back soon for lessons learned and best practices for your own neighborhood.
Skills: Permitting, conservation on agricultural land, illegal dumping prevention.
Fun Fact: Eagle Scout, former member of the University of California Marching Band, aspiring birder, and a Contra Costa native raised in Southern California.
Ben started working with Contra Costa RCD in January 2017 after receiving two Masters degrees from Indiana University in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Policy following undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley. Ben manages the Voluntary Local Program, the EcoStewards Program, and other conservation programs focused on agricultural lands.
Skills: Rangeland ecology and management, fire ecology, California plant identification, data management and analysis.
Fun Fact: Puts buffalo sauce on everything, is passionate about native plant horticulture, and loves tiny plants and fungi.
Zoë grew up in the South Bay Area, where much of her childhood was spent hiking and exploring the local regional parks with her mom. Having grown up in a wildland urban interface community, Zoë is interested in the impact of wildfire on California ecosystems and communities, and aims to both restore historical fire regimes to Bay Area landscapes as well as promote the equitable allocation of fire preparedness, management, and mitigation resources.
Zoë received degrees in Ecology and Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, where she completed an undergraduate thesis exploring how leaf traits can be used to predict fire severity in Southern California forests. Her passion for wildfire ecology and fondness for Bay Area grassland and oak woodland landscapes led her to pursue a master's degree in Rangeland Management at UC Berkeley, where her studies focused on rangeland plant ecology, wildfire and prescribed fire on rangelands, grazing management, and the ways in which people and the environment influence each other. Zoë looks forward to using her ecological knowledge and her passion for environmental justice in her work managing and utilizing fire with the RCD.
Skills: CA Native Plant Identification, Fire Ecology, Environmental Education, Community Outreach, and ARCGIS and other ESRI services.
Fun Fact: I have a Pitbull puppy who my life revolves around, and am a very passionate SF Giants fan as I love baseball, both watching and playing!
Joe has joined the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District following an undergraduate degree in Forestry and Natural Resources with an emphasis in Fire Ecology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As an East Bay native, I grew up exploring all around the wonderful natural areas the Bay Area has to offer and I am extremely excited to begin serving my local communities. Before joining the team, I served a separate Americorp term at a local fire department which gave me a great insight into the world of vegetation management, community education, and community engagement. I'm very eager to bring my knowledge and skills to the team, and look forward to educating, supporting, and implementing positive change in and around my home.
