6B and Friends Firewise Newsletter - October 2022

IMPORTANT: Hours/expenses estimates due now!

 
Your estimates for the hours and money you have spent on fire preparedness on your property in the last year are due now. It took us two years to get certified by the Firewise USA program and the National Fire Protection Association. These annual estimates are essential to maintaining that certification.

So much work has been done in our neighborhood, especially since Snowmageddon. Thank you for your hard work!

Folks, this is easy. Take a guess about the hours and money you spent on fire mitigation work you did on your property since Nov. 1, 2021  - receipts are not needed. Fill out this form and email it to Roger Miller at  grm0042@yahoo.com.

If you're unsure about how to do this via email, you can print and fill out the form  and drop it in Roger's mailbox at 13748 Marin Place, which is off Polaris. If you need help with any of this, call Lauren Drutz at (530) 559-5460 right away.

Many property and home improvement chores (think weed whacking, raking or upgrading your deck) are items that count. Take a look at a list of examples here. 

Please help us renew our certification. 
- Allison, Jim, Lauren, Lynn and Roger

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Website and neighborhood roster access

Did you know we have a website? You can access all kinds of fire safety information at 6Bandfriends.org. You can also view and download our roster under the About tab  here.

Updates from Nevada County Coalition of Firewise Communities

- NEWLY UPDATED: “Is There a Wildfire?” – now includes Watch Duty, the app everyone should have on their cell phone to receive alerts to any serious fire start in Nevada County.
 
- For a live demonstration of the above “Is There a Wildfire?” handout, here’s a 7-minute video where Susan Rogers shows how she learned about the Rices Fire (June 28th, 2022 on San Juan Ridge) and the two websites she immediately consulted to determine it was not coming in her direction.
 
- NEWLY UPDATED: “How to Stay Informed During an Actual Emergency” – now includes Watch Duty. This should be printed out and kept on everyone’s refrigerator or bulletin board.
 
- NEW ARTICLE on Wildfire Hazards in Residential Fences and Mulch Beds, based on research after many houses in Arizona burned down earlier this year after fire jumped from their wood fences to the houses.
 
- The Zero-to-5-Feet Zone has been proven by research to be the most vulnerable area outside your house. Watch this 7-minute video from Fire Safe Marin to learn best practices for this area of your defensible space. Their 16-minute video “How to Protect Your Deck from Wildfire” is also excellent and now linked from the coalition website.
 
- It’s an ember attack that’s going to take down your house, 80-90% of the time, rather than the actual fire front reaching your door. The two best videos on how to protect your home from an ember attack are Be Ember Prepared: Will Your House Survive When the Embers Arrive? from the University of Nevada, Reno (26-minutes) and  Your Home Can Survive a Wildfire (USDA Forest Service, 13 minutes).
 
- How “hardened” is enough for home hardening? This 11-page checklist with guidelines from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (which exists to research how to keep businesses and homes from burning down) is a manageable document for your review.
 
- Keep your gas tank at least ½ full and your Go Bag by the door.