Dear New Neighbors,

Welcome to Kirkwood and the Kirkwood Firewise Community!  

Firewise USA ® is a national, voluntary program that provides a collaborative framework to help neighbors get organized, find direction, and take action to increase the ignition resistance of their homes and community and to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. The program is administered by the National Fire Protection Association ® (NFPA®), a global self-funded nonprofit organization. 

There are several benefits to being in our Kirkwood Firewise Community:

·       Reduced risk from wildfires for your individual home and the entire community.

·       Increased access to home insurance and discounts.

·       Access to Fire Safe Council and county resources, such as chipping, and county grant programs available only to Firewise communities.  

·       Advocacy for changes in regulations (e.g., local tree ordinances) and up-to-date information on new/revised regulations, such as the requirement for a CAL-FIRE Defensible space inspection when selling your home.

Kirkwood was first recognized as a Firewise community in March 2022. To maintain our “In Good Standing Status,” we must hold an annual community outreach event and demonstrate an investment in wildfire risk mitigation equivalent to one volunteer hour per residence. For our 751 residences, that works out to 751 volunteer hours, or an equivalent $ investment valued at $31.80 per hour, or $23,881.80.

How can you do your part?

·       Contact us at KirkwoodFirewise@gmail. com to get your Firewise poster (image below) that explains how wildfires spread and provides priorities and checklists for reducing your wildfire risk.  You can also find them in the General Store.

·       Work on hardening your home and reducing fuels around it. Please record your time and money invested on defensible space work by going to this form : Record Hours.

·       Sign up for Emergency Alerts (Alpine, Amador, and El Dorado Counties) and for our newsletter to keep up to date on emergency information, chipping dates, sign-ups, and new information from Kirkwood Firewise USA ®.

·       If you are planning new landscaping around your home, ask us for the booklet, “Choosing the Right Plants,” published by the “Living with Fire” program.

 If you have any questions, please contact us at KirkwoodFirewise@gmail.com.

 Sincerely,

The Kirkwood Firewise USA ® Committee