Workshops

The Fire Safe Council offers public workshops on a variety of topics such as emergency preparedness, home hardening, creating defensible space, and understanding fire insurance.

Check our events calendar for upcoming workshops or use the list below to access archived recordings of past events.

Home Ignition Zone Training - August 14-15, 2021

The Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council is hosting a two-day Home Ignition Zone Training on August 14-15. Right now, there are 41 applicants for the class. A total of 40 students can be accepted.

The goal is to maximize the number of local participants, thereby creating a rich resource of expertise here in the county. This volunteer team would then be available to advise the rest of us on the vital subject of best practices to increase the defensibility of our homes from the threat of wildfires.

The training will be held in Bonny Doon. Both sessions run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there will be food a truck on-site and light snacks. Our deadline for sign-up is July 29.  We will be maintaining a Wait List. To register, go to https://forms.gle/TiSR43uxdA3i1RQ18. The cost to attend is $500.

For more information, write to .

To register online, go to https://forms.gle/frBhqyuk5okUPStV6.

See below for more information.

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdr6c8g2XZOYF.../viewform

How to Protect Our Homes and Communities from Wildfires

A two-part Saturday series on Zoom
Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, 2020, from 10-11:30am

This workshop will help residential homeowners, professional landscapers, and contractors learn how to help a house and the surrounding landscaping “save itself” during wildfire season. Learn the steps to “harden” homes, strategically reduce fuel loads, how to develop a wildfire risk assessment of your home or your clients’ homes, and make our communities more fire resilient. This in-depth workshop will offer an introduction to defensible landscaping, strategic house hardening, and other proven wildfire protection techniques. You will benefit from the latest techniques that have been developed after the extreme wildfires in California.

The workshop will cover:

  • Which homes are saved and which homes are lost in wildfires? What can be done to increase the chances that a home survives a wildfire?
  • Strategies to employ in each of the defensible zones around a home.
  • Best practices for landscape design and maintenance that emphasizes hardscapes, plant selection, and tree considerations.
  • Home hardening and how to choose building materials that can make houses less ignitable; how building codes now require fire-safe materials for new construction, and how these can be applied to remodels.
  • How homeowners can engage with trained professionals. What questions should homeowners be asking? For professionals, what guidance and services are homeowners looking for?
  • Prescribed burns and the significance of living in a fire adapted community.
  • What is a FireWise community? And why should I care?

Through real-world examples, and lessons learned through responding to wildfires, fire prevention experts and guest speakers from the building and landscaping trades will provide an orientation that will help homeowners and professionals make decisions about how to apply proven wildfire protection techniques to individual homes.

At the end of class, students will have developed a prioritized plan on how they can play a role in making their home and their community fire adapted, and how to identify what their next steps can be. There will be ample time at the end of each class meeting for Q & A.

A portion of the proceeds from this class will go to support the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County. For more information go to https://www.firesafesantacruz.org/

This class will occur live in the Zoom virtual classroom. You will receive a link to join the live session in your registration confirmation email, following registration.


Home Hardening Presentation
Understanding Homeowner Insurance in High Risk Fire Areas
Lessons Learned from the Bear Fire

Part 1: Home Hardening Radio
Presentation (KSQD 97.1 FM)
Part 2: Home Hardening Radio
Presentation (KSQD 97.1 FM)
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