Forbestown Earns National Recognition for Wildfire Preparedness

Because of its efforts to reduce the vulnerability of homes and landscapes to wildfire, Forbestown has earned Firewise Communities/USA© recognition from the National Firewise Communities Program.
In a program sponsored by Butte County Fire Safe Council, Forbestown Ridge Fire Safe Council worked with its partners to conduct a wildfire hazard assessment and develop a plan to address safety concerns for Forbestown residents in both Butte and Yuba counties. Stakeholders are working together to implement the plan and include: Butte County Fire Safe Council, Yuba County Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council, CAL FIRE, and US Forest Service.

Forbestown is the fourth community in Butte County to be recognized as Firewise Communities/USA, joining Yankee Hill, Merry Mountain Village, and Berry Creek. Other local communities are in the process. Nationwide, over eleven hundred communities have achieved Firewise recognition.

To receive Firewise Communities/USA recognition, Forbestown met a rigorous set of requirements, including fuel mitigation projects around and within Forbestown, informational events, community meetings, and recordkeeping of volunteer hours.

The public is invited to join the Forbestown Ridge Fire Safe Council as they celebrate their achievement and provide fire safety information on Saturday April 11, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Charles Lynds Community Hall, New York Flat Road, in Forbestown.

“When residents live in the foothills and mountain of Butte County, wildfire is a threat. This is a great program for residents to participate in and make a difference for the forest, wildlife, and their neighbors,” says Calli-Jane DeAnda, Executive Director of the Butte County Fire Safe Council. Join in the local efforts in your area. Get more information by calling 877-0984 or visiting the website at www.thenet411.net.”

“Achieving Firewise recognition is not a quick or easy process. Forbestown has done an outstanding job of creating a local Firewise Task Force and implementing Firewise principles,” said Michele Steinberg, support manager of the Firewise Communities program. “By preparing homes, structures, and landscapes before a wildfire occurs, Forbestown has dramatically increased the chance that homes and structures will be protected when a wildfire occurs.”

Working through the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), state forestry agencies support the Firewise Communities/USA recognition effort. The program is a nationwide initiative that recognizes communities for taking action to protect people and properties from the risk of fire in the wildland/urban interface. This program is of special interest to small communities and neighborhood associations that are willing to mitigate against wildfire by adopting and implementing programs tailored to their needs. The communities create the programs themselves with cooperative assistance from state forestry agencies and local fire staff.

To maintain Firewise Communities/USA status, communities must submit an annual report that documents continuing compliance with the program. Communities interested in earning recognition may visit www.firewise.org/usa for more information. Firewise Communities/USA© is part of the National Fire Protection Association, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169.