Firewise Forum - Successes

Innovation: The Heart of a Firewise Leader
We're going into the third year for the Firewise Leadership Awards program. It is always exciting to be able to recognize individuals and organizations for their hard work in making sure their communities are safe, and in the process, identifying new ways to achieve the Firewise mission.

Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing in detail the nominations sent in for the 2007 Firewise Leadership Awards. What I found to be a common theme was that these leaders are not just the "spark plugs" for their communities. They are true innovators.

Innovation may seem like today's latest buzz word, but when you think about the amount of work and collaboration that goes into creating a Firewise community, you know it takes the work of a creative mind! Changing community perceptions and getting people to focus on mitigation over prevention requires inventive ideas to make a tangible difference.

If you think about it, the entire Firewise Communities program began as an innovative thought. While I wasn't involved when the program began, I've heard the war stories. The concept of empowering communities with the tools and motivation to mitigate their own fire risk was unheard of. Today, it's happening all over the country. And the future of the Firewise Communities program will depend on continued creativity and passion from those who are closest to the issue: The residents, community leaders, and those working on the ground with them-from firefighters to land managers.

Going into this election year, we are facing economic uncertainty and environmental concerns, among many other domestic issues. However, there are those who know wildfires have no political barriers and recognize the importance of getting communities to pull together from the ground up to get prepared. And they're finding ways to do so, even in the face of surmounting challenges.



We want to meet these individuals, and we want to recognize their work. We are looking for 2008 Leadership Award nominees now through June 30. If you know an individual or an organization who is discovering new ways to further the Firewise mission, visit http://www.firewise.org/awards/index.htm for entry guidelines and forms. If you have any questions, drop an e-mail to the team.

I know there are so many people out there who deserve recognition, and I challenge everyone reading this blog to send in a nomination.

posted by Maureen Rootz at 2/04/2008 01:16:00 PM

"Start - er - KEEP Spreading the News"

Great news! Literally. The Firewise message is coming across in the news media more than ever. Rather than exclusively reporting Just The Stats, Ma'am (#acres; #structures; #trucks, and tankers), reporters are increasingly discussing how to live naturally with fire. Stories are moving from one-line mentions of firewise.org to full-blown articles about the importance of wildfire mitigation-and what residents can and should be doing on their own property. We're also seeing a slew of announcements of workshops and local community activities.

We're working hard from the national end, but we also recognize that we owe the majority of this shift to the continued media outreach by our Firewise Communities/USA liaisons and residents, state and federal agency public information and prevention officers, and members of the fire service.

Go ahead - search Google News for "Firewise" of "wildfire mitigation." It's really amazing what's out there. Then visit the Firewise Newsroom for ideas on how you can help generate even more.

While not a replacement for face-to-face outreach, news media have the microphone to reach more people than we possibly could in person. Keep it up, folks. Help us tell the Firewise story. And help exponentially more people be Firewise.

(Editor's note: There are plenty more great articles we would like to have shared here. We're limited in what we can link to - many articles expire within weeks or require online subscriptions.)

posted by Maureen Rootz at 6/04/2007 10:36:00 AM

How Are We Excellent?

A small group of Firewise program staff, community representatives, state liaisons and federal staffers met recently for a "Firewise Springboard Innovations Workshop". The objective was to explore how we might sustain momentum and further the success of the Firewise Communities/USA program.

Because I tend to see the bright side of life (a former co-worker used to call me "Pollyanna in Hell"), my favorite part of this workshop was an exercise called "How Are We Excellent?" I could have told them how Firewise is excellent -- I get to work on it every day, and get to see the results of the work of neighbors helping neighbors, supported by their fire service and by their state and national land managers. Hurray for Firewise! Whoopee! Go team, go!
Sorry, got carried away with how excellent we are! But guess what -- other people besides me think that Firewise is excellent, too. Here's some of what they had to say:

* Firewise presents good, reliable, and empowering information that homeowners and communities can use and build upon to prevent losses from wildfire events.
* Firewise gave us some tangible goals and motivated us to get moving on doing fire prevention and fire mitigation steps on our own properties.
* Firewise has been all pluses for us. No drawbacks at all. We have seen a very obvious change in mentality of the majority of our residents. We can measure it in the steps which have been taken in fire prevention and fire mitigation which otherwise would not have been taken.
* The answers to the WUI fire problem must reach across many sectors and many levels of decision makers, from the personal to the public, and your ability to maintain an ongoing dialogue and interaction among these various parties has always struck me as the single most enduring contribution of the Firewise program.
* Firewise materials are based on sound science and management principles, and are easily understood and accepted by mature audiences.
* Firewise is second only to Smokey Bear in public recognition of wildfire responsibilities, and its impact on public perceptions of the wildfire issues in the wildland urban interface is second to none.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the drift. Firewise is everyone's responsibility - but also everyone's success to celebrate. If you'd like more in the way of hard numbers, let me offer this excellent assortment:

* More than 220 communities now participate in the Firewise Communities/USA recognition program in 33 states.
* Nearly $6 million dollars was invested by these communities in their own safety measures last year alone - more than $14 million since 2003.
* More than 90% of communities that started participating as early as 2002 have continued to renew their recognition status. 11 of the 12 original communities have been in Firewise for the long haul - more than 5 years now.

The rest of the workshop focused on what we can be doing better, which gives us some great goals to reach for. Just wanted to reflect on the excellent place from which we have to start.

posted by Michele Steinberg at 4/23/2007 01:10:00 PM

Let's Hear Your Best Firewise Save Story

Just last month in Hawaii, a 2,300-acre fire burned through a large section of the Kula Forest Reserve in Maui. The fire is now 100 percent contained, but in one of the sections of dense forest sits a lone cabin that stood up to the fire...and won. Local incident commanders at the park are saying that county agencies and local residents recently implemented a Firewise plan where the cabin is located, and "That work saved the cabin."

A similar incident occurred in Saddle Ridge, Texas in early 2006. One wildfire approached this Firewise Communities/USA site with 211 homes, but residents had created defensible space around their homes months before fire season. This helped reduce flame height and enabled the fire department to extinguish the fire before it reached the community.

On June 10, 2006, a wildfire started in the woods near a group of homes in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. By performing Firewise mitigation efforts, including creating defensible space and allowing access to city water, the homes were never in any danger from the threat of wildfire.

Just a 2006 phenomenon?

How about some old news. During the pilot phase of the Firewise Communities/USA program, the community of Timber Ridge, Arizona substantially reduced the dangerous fuels within the subdivision. During a major wildfire that burned through the Prescott National Forest right up to the border of Timber Ridge, the subdivision was evacuated for three days. The city fire chief told the residents that theirs was the only subdivision threatened by the wildfire that he could protect, and it was because of the work they had done preparing for a wildfire event.

Sound familiar?

These are just a taste of the "Firewise Saves" we have heard from all parts of the country. Stories like these are among the most compelling factors that motivate other residents to take action. Now we are asking you to add to our collective body of knowledge. If you know of a community that has passed the test of fire, please e-mail us your stories and pictures or leave comments here.

We know the stories are out there, and we want to share them!

Recognized Firewise Communities Make a Difference in Local Fire Readiness

At the risk of sounding overly enthusiastic regarding the good things that have been happening related to the Firewise Communities program, I am writing this blog to tell our readers about the wonderful people all over the United States who have moved from mitigation planning to community action. These are the residents of Firewise Communities/USA sites---over 210,000 of them.

Approximately seven years ago, the Firewise Communities/USA program was crafted and designed, based on wildland/urban interface and social science research concepts. It was then piloted in twelve communities across the country. Input was gathered from homeowners, homeowner associations and township, county, state and federal fire staff. After their recommendations were integrated, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group formally endorsed Firewise Communities/USA.

In September of 2003, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) stepped up to play an important and integral role with Firewise Communities. Thanks to the NASF, 41 states have appointed liaisons that provide on-the-ground Firewise information and guidance to their constituents. At this writing, three years later, 166 communities in 33 states are registered as Firewise Communities/USA sites. Nearly every community entering the program has stuck with it, renewing their status yearly. Between January 1, 2005 and July 15, 2006, participating communities invested $4,413,016 in local wildfire mitigation projects. You can read about their accomplishments in the Community Stories area of www.firewise.org/usa.

All this good work is making a difference. The innovations and successes of the recognized Firewise Communities/USA have catalyzed surrounding locales. Strong relationships have been established between local fire staff and homeowner groups that will prove invaluable during a wildfire or, as some have noted, during other emergencies as well. And homeowners are doing what is best for their communities. They have learned to make good decisions with respect to wildfire mitigation, and have the confidence to take action.

The Firewise Communities/USA program has shown itself to provide an easy-to-follow path to positive community change with regard to wildfire safety. We applaud those individuals who have engaged in the Firewise process. For more information about becoming a Firewise Communities/USA site, you can contact your state liaison or a representative of the Firewise Communities program in the Contact a Representative at www.firewise.org/usa.

posted by Judith Leraas Cook at 8/16/2006 05:29:00 PM