Fire Safe Councils - Firewise and Firewise Communities/USA

Firewise and Firewise Communities/USA

Like fire safe councils, Firewise and the national Firewise Communities/USA program are designed to reach beyond the fire service by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, and others in the effort to protect people, property, and natural resources from the risk of wildland fire - before a fire starts. Fire safe councils and Firewise Communities/USA both emphasize community responsibility for planning in the design of a safe community as well as effective emergency response, and individual responsibility for safer home construction and design, landscaping, and maintenance.

The national Firewise Communities/USA program, part of the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Program sponsored by the Wildland/Urban Interface Working Team, is intended to serve as a resource for agencies, tribes, organizations, fire departments, and communities across the U.S. who are working toward a common goal: reduce loss of lives, property, and resources to wildland fire by building and maintaining communities in a way that is compatible with our natural surroundings.

The Firewise Communities/USA program differs from fire safe councils in that the Firewise program is nationwide while fire safe councils are mainly in California and Nevada. Outside of California and Nevada, where the concept of local fire safe councils are not well developed, Firewise Communities are the major community-based organizational structure.

The two approaches to motivating community members to take responsibility for preparing their communities to be better able to survive a wildfire are very compatible. The major difference between the two methods is that in order to be certified as a Firewise Community, the entire community must be involved, including financially, whereas fire safe councils, especially those that are 501(c)(3) organizations, can operate with a much smaller level of individual participation. Also, fire safe councils often implement projects which go beyond a single community, such as shaded fuel breaks.

The Firewise Communities in California are usually chapters of a county-wide fire safe council, but they can function independently if that best serves the community.

Firewise offers a wide range of resources, including the Firewise Catalog, where materials can be ordered simply for the cost of shipping.

In 2009, the California Fire Safe Council, Inc. began exploring taking over the role of Firewise liaison in California from CAL FIRE. If the CFSCI succeeds in this effort, the impact on Firewise and Firewise Communities in California is unknown, but the concentration of power is a potential concern.