Kaycie Hopkins, resident lead, had this to share
The Firewise Recognized Valley View neighborhood includes over 180 homes in Merriewood, extending the entire length of Valley View Rd and incorporating Beauforest Dr, Doncaster Pl, and portions of Pinehaven Rd, Thornhill Dr and Merriewood Dr.
Many residents in our neighborhood have lost their fire insurance or have seen their premiums skyrocket as the potential for fire damage in California continues to increase.
Our residents had already been actively pursuing fire hardness on their own, including aggressive attempts by homeowners to remove dangerous eucalyptus trees, but coming together as a community to support these efforts and provide educational materials on best practices has invigorated the area and spurred further action.
We have a dedicated leadership team of about a dozen individuals that have been exceptional in divvying up the work to get certified.
We’ve been able to hold both educational and social events, host our own website for communication and outreach, and sponsor a community clean up day to improve our area’s fire hardness – including improving access on our public stairwell which may be a necessary evacuation route in the event of a wildfire.
Throughout this process, Joelle Fraser and others at the Oakland Firesafe Council have been an invaluable resource in guiding our application and helping us identify areas to target.
We were at times a little overwhelmed at the challenge of certification, given the large size of our neighborhood and the incredibly dense vegetation in our area, but the OFSC has been hugely supportive, making the process as smooth as possible and guiding our focus towards where we can have the largest impact to improve our neighborhood’s safety
We look forward to implementing our action plan to continue improving our neighborhood’s fire resistance and raising resident awareness.
Thank you Firewise!
The (NFPA) Firewise USA® recognition program was designed to help residents learn about wildfire risks and provide a self-directed, collaborative framework for neighbors to work together to reduce these risks by engaging in fuel reduction and home hardening activities.
Oakland Firesafe Council is encouraging Oakland neighborhood groups to join the growing network of more than 1,500 Firewise USA® sites from across the nation by taking ownership in preparing and protecting their homes and communities against the threat of wildfire. LEARN MORE