Thankfully we have experienced a relatively mild wildfire season so far this year but our driest months are still to come. With that in mind, Oakland Firesafe Council is here to help you be SAFE, be PREPARED, and be READY!
Unfortunately OFSC has lost a critical City of Oakland Grant that has enabled our education/workshops, Guides/materials, wildfire safety programs/Firewise USA® and outreach capabilities for these past two years. Athough we are pursuing other funding opportunities to keep some of these important resources and services going, without donations we will soon find ourselves having to cut way back and retrench our public facing and Firewise USA® preparedness activities.
We need your help to avoid this outcome.
Being prepared and being wildfire-ready is a crucial service that OFSC provides year-round. Thus we are having to begin our annual fundraising campaign now instead of waiting until year’s end.
Your support has enabled us over the last 9 years to reach thousands of Oaklanders and East Bay residents and make them aware of the importance of readiness, home hardening, vegetation management , and wildfire fuel load reduction. This has made us all safer and more resilient within our communities.
Here are some important accomplishments so far in 2023:
- Developed a Firescaping program aimed at both residents and professionals to provide an overview, guidance, and resources for fire-smarter landscaping practices.
- Developed a Wildfire Monitoring/Warning and Reporting program to inform residents on how best to be aware of potential wildfire events and report to authorities and to their community.
- Continued our Firewise USA® for Oakland program which provides hands-on assistance throughout the process from the introduction presentation, assessment planning, and creating the 3-year action plan. As a results, Oakland has 2 Firewise USA® recognized communities in the hills and over a dozen others that are well on their way to becoming recognized.
- Continued providing our disaster/wildfire preparedness and prevention programs, education and support to Oakland residents, neighborhoods, community groups, organizations and
Neighborhood Councils–to well over 6,000 individuals directly/in-person since inception. - Delivered our 1-hour PEP (Personal Emergency Preparedness ) and our new WEP (Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness) workshop to over 1,000 participants total, and our preparedness overview to 30+ Neighborhood Council (NC/NCPC) groups throughout Oakland, as well as tabled at local events and presented at community and agency meetings.
- Participated in the new Partners in Prevention program to share knowledge/best practices, coordinate Firewise USA® activities, develop collaborations and extend outreach to enhance wildfire safety with partner Firesafe/Firewise groups including Diablo, Berkeley, Kensington, Richmond and Orinda.
Please support the continuation of these efforts and strengthen your commitment to wildfire safety and preparedness in Oakland (and beyond).
Thank you for all that you have done so far in supporting OFSC’s work and thank you for any donation you are able to make now.
With sincere gratitude,
Ken Benson, President of Oakland Firesafe Council