firesafe

Fire safe councils are grassroots community-based organizations in California that share the objective of making communities less vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire. Fire safe councils accomplish this objective through education programs and projects such as shaded fuel breaks or firebreaks to protect area residents against an oncoming wildfire and to provide firefighters with a place to fight the oncoming fire. The first fire safe councils started in the early 1990s, and there are now over 100 around the state.The California Fire Safe Council, Inc. (CFSCI) was incorporated in mid-2002 with the primary role of operating the Fire Safe California Grants Clearinghouse. The grassroots fire safe councils are referred to as "local fire safe councils" (FSCs) to distinguish them from the CFSCI.
Local fire safe councils usually include representatives from:

Fire agencies, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF or CAL FIRE), the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and/or local fire protection districts as appropriate
Local governments, such as city and/or county
Businesses, especially insurance
Other agencies, such as Resource Conservation Districts
The publicThe fire agency and local government representatives may be members of the FSC, or may serve in an advisory capacity, depending on local needs.
All local fire safe councils are independent entities. Some are organized as non-profit and/or tax-exempt corporations; others operate under a memorandum of understanding with a county, city, and/or local fire protection district; some have no formal structure at all.
Fire safe councils vary in focus. Some are county-wide, while others comprise only the Homeowner's Association in a subdivision, to all sizes in between. There are also several regional associations of fire safe councils.
While some fire safe councils have paid staff, such as an Executive Director, and may have grant funding for fuel reduction projects, all FSCs rely heavily on volunteers for much of their work.
The community-based approach to reducing wildfire risk is being implemented in other locations in the United States. An example is FireSafe Montana. Firewise USA Communities are also community-based organizations focused on wildfire mitigation throughout the United States, including California.

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