Members of fire safe councils from all over northwestern California will be meeting in Weaverville in April. The idea for this get-together grew out of the FireWise Workshop held in Fortuna in November of last year (See Fall 2003 Conservation Almanac). Participants at that workshop began to realize that fire safe councils have been formed throughout the region to deal with the issues surrounding the protection of communities and our forests from wildfire. Some councils, like the Trinity County Fire Safe Council, are countywide while others, like those in Orleans/Somes Bar and the Lower Mattole, are working within specific communities. The Trinity County Fire Safe Council is known around the region for its successes – it has a Fire Management Plan and an action plan that were developed at community meetings held throughout the county from November 1999 through May 2002, and the Trinity County Fire Safe Council has maintained a strong emphasis on implementing projects all over the county through organizations such as the Post Mountain PUD, Watershed Research and Training Center, Humboldt Trinity Recreation Alliance and RCD.

The April workshop will provide an opportunity for fire safe councils to share their success stories on how to educate communities, secure funding for projects and implement fire safe strategies in, and around, their communities. Organizers hope this workshop will enhance fire safe projects throughout the region and result in forming a network of fire safe volunteers and professionals, who can share information that will benefit everyone.

For more information, contact us. To become more involved in your Trinity County Fire Safe Council, join us at our monthly meetings at 7:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of every month. To receive Fire Safe Council meeting minutes and announcements, send Pat or Noreen your email address.