About Fire Safe Santa Cruz County
Fire Safe Santa Cruz County (FSSCC) was formed in September 2016 as a nonprofit corporation, 501(c)(3), in the state of California through collaboration between local fire safe councils, CAL FIRE, local government, water districts, non-profit organizations, industry, and the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (RCD). FSSCC is overseen by a Board of Directors. The RCD temporarily serves as the group’s fiscal and administrative sponsor, while we build capacity.
Our Mission
The purpose of Fire Safe Santa Cruz County (FSSCC) is to educate and mobilize the people of Santa Cruz County to protect their lives, homes, community, and environment from wildfire.
Context
Two-thirds of Santa Cruz County is considered Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), putting a large percentage of our population, housing, economy, wildlife, and environment at risk from catastrophic fire.
Valuable Programs We Provide:
- Helping the public learn to live with fire in Santa Cruz County
- Disseminating guidelines for preparing our homes to resist wildfires (home hardening)
- Disseminating guidelines for reducing fuels around our homes and neighborhoods
- Assistance to neighbors wanting to form Firewise Communities and work collaboratively to make their homes and neighborhoods more resilient to wildland fires
- Educational public presentations on wildfire resilience strategies (examples include Residential Insurance Cancelations and Home Hardening Strategies)
- In conjunction with our partners, provide response to individual homeowner requests for assistance, such as chipping programs
End Results
To embrace proactive steps we can all take to make our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, and our County more resilient to wildfires through education, home hardening, strategic fuel reduction, and community collaboration.
Meet the Fire Safe Santa Council of Cruz County Board Members
Executive Committee:
| Office |
Name |
Primary Affiliation |
Term End Date |
| President | Joe Christy |
President, Fire Safe Council of Bonny Doon |
June 2024 |
| Vice President |
Adam Hensleigh | June 2025 | |
| Treasurer | Christopher Bradford | June 2025 | |
| Secretary |
Patty Ciesla | Wildfire Resilience Program Manager, OR3, County of Santa Cruz |
June 2024 |
| Board Member, RCD ED | Lisa Lurie | Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County |
June 2024 |
Board Members:
| Name | Primary Affiliation | Term End Date |
| Carly Blanchard | San Lorenzo Valley Water District |
June 2024 |
| Liz Kroft | Sol Property Advisors |
June 2024 |
| Lynn Sestak | Santa Cruz County Firewise Coordinator |
June 2025 |
| Cindy Weigelt | State Farm Agent | June 2024 |
| Tony Akin | June 2025 | |
| Sanjay Khandelwal | June 2025 | |
| Michael Horn | June 2025 |
Board Support:
Sophia Sholtz
Administrative Coordinator
Ilana King
Concerned Resident and Financial Advisor
