Meet the GF FireSafe Council From left to right: Barbara Lacy - Treasurer, Lee Loney Chairman Ted Collings - Vice Chairman Not pictured: Sandi Bush - Secretary

Where do I start? There are so many really good things happening. Grizzly Flat has been identified in the Federal Register as a Community at Risk and was the location of one of seven Healthy Forests Initiative Environmental Assessment Demonstration Projects in the United States. The Last Chance Fuels Reduction Project (LCFRP) is one of the national projects which is located on National Forest land adjacent to Grizzly Flats and was selected because of heavy fuel loading and topography, past fire history indicates the high likelihood of a major fire threatening Grizzly Flats.
The El Dorado County FireSafe Council with funding from the United States Forest Service, State and Private Forest, Economic Recovery Program requested proposals from registered professional foresters to develop a Community Action Plan for Grizzly Flats, after Grizzly Flats was identified by the El Dorado County FireSafe Council as one of the highest priorities for wild fire safety planning. The county has earmarked $200,000.00 for Community Enhancement in Grizzly Flats.
The GF FireSafe Council made up of 22 of your neighbors, was formally started in April 2004 under the umbrella of the El Dorado FireSafe Council. The MISSION of the GF FireSafe Council is to preserve Grizzly Flats' natural and manmade resources by informing, educating and mobilizing all residents and landowners to make their homes, neighborhood and communities fire safe.
Our GOAL is to inform, educate and promote a fire safe environment for the community, coordinate a community-wide fire plan integrated with the appropriate agencies and implement the evacuation preparedness plan for Grizzly Flats.
The GF Firesafe Council meets the first Saturday of the month at the Grizzly Flats Community Church Lodge at 10:30 am. September’s meeting is to be held on the 18th because of the L abor Day Holiday. The meetings are open to everyone in the community and even the outlying areas. Please feel free to join us at any time and bring your neighbor.
 

EVACUATION PACKET DISTRIBUTION The Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council will be distributing the Wildfire Evacuation and General Preparedness Plan packets starting the week of September 6. This packet is full of valuable information about our area, how to make your home fire safe, what to prepare ahead of time, what will be done and what you will need to do in the event of a wild fire and evacuation. Volunteers from the FireSafe Council will be going door-to-door in the community and personally delivering these packets. The Grizzly Park Community has been broken down into Units (the same unit boundaries of the Grizzly Park Subdivisions). So far, we have a volunteer for each unit, with the exception of Unit 6. Along with each Unit Leader, a Unit Leader Coordinator position has been assigned to oversee and coordinate the process. The goal of the Council in the door-to-door distribution is not only to save on the mailing costs associated with this package, but also for you, the “end user” of this packet to meet your Unit Leader (your neighbor!) and to ask any questions you may have. The Unit Leaders will leave you a business card with their phone number on it if you need to ask any questions in the future. We are asking for volunteers for Unit 6. This would be an excellent opportunity for you to become familiar with the Wildfire Evacuation and General Preparedness Plan, along with helping out your community and getting to know your neighbors. You do not have live in this unit or be a member of the Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council to volunteer. Please contact Unit Leader Coordinator Mark Almer at 622-3774 if you are interested.

El Dorado County FireSafe Council has made available two wonderful programs for county residents to utilize. Both programs are free, however donations are always welcome.
The Chipper Program allows the homeowner/renter to place trees and branches curb side to be chipped and the chips will be placed back on the property for use as decorative mulch. There are specific guidelines for the piles and size limitations of chipping material. The El Dorado County FireSafe Council pays over $800 a day to provide this service.
The Senior and Disabled Assistance Program is set up to provide labor for clearing the 30ft defensible space required by California law around your home. There are no minimum income requirements, but please be considerate and save the resources for those seniors or disabled whom cannot afford to hire the help.
Call the El Dorado County FireSafe Council at 626-2526 and leave a message to request the application forms for either or both programs or you can print the forms from the website at: www.edcfiresafe.org. This in-formation will also be included in your evacuation packets. Donations can be mailed to the El Dorado County FireSafe Council, P.O. Box 1237, Pollock Pines, CA 95726, Attention: Janna.

About the
El Dorado County
FireSafe Council

We are a California non-profit, Public Benefit Corporation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. As stated in our Bylaws, our mission is "To protect the people of El Dorado County and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire through education, cooperation,innovation & action." The council was organized in September 2001 and currently has over 150 individuals from the public and private sectors on our Council Communication Network who are committed to making El Dorado County more fire safe. Education & community outreach is a top priority. We make the residents of the County aware of the risks of living within a Wildland Urban Interface and what they can do to protect their home and property from wildfire. Creating defensible space is their responsibility. Over the past decades, people have moved into the forest and wildland environment because of the natural resources and rural atmosphere; It is a beautiful place to live. However many people build homes in this environment with little or no knowledge of what it means to live with the threat of catastrophic wildfires. Our goal is to make residents aware of their responsibilities for their property and to their community. We are all in this together because wildfire recognizes no property lines or boundaries. Nationally over the past four years, millions of acres of forest and private land, thousands of homes and many lives have been lost due to catastrophic wildfires. When you live in the Wildland Urban Interface, wildfires are a fact of life: It is not IF, but WHEN, you will be involved in a wildfire. Although the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council was formed in late 2001, in a very short time the Council has become the central driving force and forum for fire safe projects throughout the county. Together we are making a difference!
Copied from: www.edcfiresafe.org

Grizzly Flats Clean-up Volunteers are needed for clean-up in the Grizzly Flats area. Call Guin Bork at 642-8875 for info

From the Editor . . . T. Henderson
Just so you know, I am a Graphic Artist, not a writer. Welcome to all the new residents in the area. It is incredible how many new faces and homes there are just in the last 2-3 years.
 
By the time you read this newsletter it will be late summer 2004. We are now through most of the summer but are still facing the most critical time of year for a catastrophic fire. To avoid the type of wild land fires that devastated Southern California in 2003 it's time that we, as a community, stand up with our neighbors and take responsibility. We have so much to lose. I myself cannot imagine this area totally destroyed by wild fire, but I also know it has happened before and will again. We can survive the inevitable with the least amount of damage possible if we work together. Are you ready?