May 1st 2021 Highland Firewise | Wildfire Preparedness Day
Contact: Shareen Bell
Highland Firewise
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Santa Cruz Residents Help Neighbors Get “Firewise” Ahead of Fire Season, Receive Praise from Rep. Jimmy Panetta, Santa Cruz Fire Marshall Jason Hadjuk
Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 2021: As state and local fire officials warn California residents of a catastrophic wildfire season, a small group of Santa Cruz volunteers is taking action to protect local neighborhoods from potential fire disasters.
On Saturday, May 1, Highland Firewise, a group of neighbor volunteers, hosted the area’s first Wildfire Awareness event for residents between High Street and Pogonip near UCSC. Attendees were invited to speak with Santa Cruz and UCSC fire officials and CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) representatives, pick up educational resources on wildfire disaster preparedness, home “hardening” and fire-resistant landscaping strategies, and volunteer for neighborhood fire safety projects. Attendees were also asked to donate to the “Goat Fund Me” campaign to clear dried brush in the nearby Evergreen Cemetery Ravine with a herd of 400 goats.
“This is really important,” said California Representative Jimmy Panetta, who attended the May 1 event. Rep. Panetta, praised the event organizers, saying “this is the kind of thing neighborhoods need to do to help each other protect themselves and their homes from wildfires.” Panetta echoed comments made by Senator John Laird and California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara during their April 29 virtual town hall meeting on emergency preparedness and wildfires.
Santa Cruz Fire Marshall Jason Hadjuk encouraged other neighborhoods to replicate the event. “In order to be better prepared for wildland fires we want neighborhoods to take proactive actions before a wildland fire happens,” said Hadjuk. “Now is the time to prepare before we move into the critical period of late summer when wildland risk is highest. I hope other neighborhoods will create their own FireWise groups and host similar awareness days.”
“Events like these can be a great way to get people involved in projects that will make us all safer” said Shareen Bell, a founding member of Highland Firewise group. In addition to providing information, “we are connecting neighbors with each other, especially older neighbors, so that no one is left behind in the event of a disaster.”
Abby Young, Fire Department Advisory Commission member and founder of one of the first Firewise neighborhoods in Santa Cruz County, attended as well. Young said, “Highland Firewise is a model for the city and county and needs their support. I hope other neighborhoods will follow their lead.”
Bell and other members of the Highland Firewise team, are working to create model tools to help other neighborhoods organize and prepare their homes for the coming fire season. For more information, or to make a tax-deductible donation to the “Goat Fund Me” campaign, visit www.highlandfirewise.org.
Press Release prepared by Team Member Tiffany Zachmeier