Santa Clara County FireSafe Council Homepage 2026

🔥 Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in Action! 🔥 On Saturday , the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council was proud to celebrate Wildfire Community Preparedness Day alongside our incredible partners and community members! We kicked off the morning with Santa Clara County Fire Department at their wildfire workshop in San Martin, where residents learned how to prepare their homes, properties, and families for wildfire. These workshops are a key part of helping our community take proactive steps like defensible space and home hardening to reduce wildfire risk. At Redwood Estates, there was a neighborhood chipping depot that helped residents remove hazardous vegetation—an important step in protecting homes and strengthening community resilience. We wrapped up the day with Los Altos Hills County Fire District, featuring great speakers and continued conversations about wildfire preparedness. 👏 Special shoutout to Mara from Chemeketa Park Firewise for joining us this morning and sharing her real-life experience—from becoming a recognized Firewise USA® community to maintaining and living in one. Your perspective is invaluable! 🌲 Wildfire preparedness is a team effort—and today showed the power of community in action. Interested in becoming a Firewise USA® community? 📧 Email us: firewise@sccfiresafe.org

Ready, set, go! The Forest Health Grant - East Branch - Guadalupe Division is now fully underway! The crew has begun work in the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The treatment area has had no real accounted fire history, and it shows. Very heavy chaparral, mostly very tall, overgrown and intertwined Manzanita and Chamise have covered mostly the summit and southern aspects. The topography is quite steep and varies, making the treatments seem kind of "spotty" as to where we can get machines in to do this work. It is opening some great vistas and will continue to break up the fuel continuity and overall fuel load up there. They’re taking extra precautions to avoid disturbing any nesting birds during this time of year.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day May 2nd Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, held annually on the first Saturday in May, is a nationwide effort to encourage communities to take action to reduce wildfire risk. This year, join in on May 2nd in your community. Here in Santa Clara County, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council encourages residents to take simple steps that make a big impact: ->Clear vegetation and create defensible space ->Clean roofs and gutters ->Prepare an evacuation plan and Go Bag (including pets) ->Work with neighbors on community projects Every action—big or small—helps protect your home and community. For More Information: Visit the National Fire Protection Association for project ideas and resources. Explore local programs through the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.

🚨 SHOUT OUT ALERT! 🚨 Join us in celebrating Nestor Valle on his promotion to Senior Project Manager! 🎉 Over the past four years, Nestor has been an incredible part of the FireSafe Council—learning, growing, and making a real impact alongside our team, partners, and the communities we serve. We’re excited to see him take on this new role and continue leading efforts to build stronger, more wildfire-resilient communities. 🔥🌿 👏 Drop a comment below to help us congratulate Nestor!

Chipping Program Registration Opens — �March 2nd! Our Spring Community Chipping Program is approaching! Registration opens on March 2nd. This program is free to WUI residents. Availability will be limited, so registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. A waitlist will be made available when registration reaches capacity.� sccfiresafe.org/chipping

📢 Join Us This Tuesday (2/17/26) – Via Zoom We’re pleased to welcome Senator Josh Becker (D13) as he kicks off our board meeting with an introduction to his SB 973 Wildfire County Coordinator Program legislation. The meeting will also feature a presentation by Ertugrul Taciroglu, Professor at UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, titled: 🔥 Computational Science in Service of Wildfire Risk and Resilience Assessment: Applications, Challenges and Opportunities 🔥 This discussion will explore how advanced modeling and computational science are shaping wildfire risk analysis and community resilience strategies. 💻 Attend via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81984959909?pwd=h3iWTco6NkH2VimuEJSEdS2J7xQaDr.1

We're pleased to join the City of Saratoga, CA for this important wildfire seminar planned for next Wednesday, February 25. Join us and partners from CAL FIRE SCU, Santa Clara County Fire Department, County of Santa Clara OEM, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and more!

🔥 Firewise wins incoming! 🔥 Huge congrats to Saratoga Heights HOA and Foothill Orchard—Santa Clara County’s newest Firewise Communities! 👏🏡 Meanwhile, our neighbors in Santa Cruz County are out here being overachievers, tied for #2 in the nation for Firewise Communities (we see you 👀🔥). ✨ Think your neighborhood has what it takes? Grab your neighbors, roll up those sleeves, and start your Firewise journey today—or take it a step further by joining our Community Ambassador Program and help lead wildfire preparedness efforts where you live.

Drive-Up Chipping Depot� �New Almaden — � �January 10th We are hosting a one-day, drive-up brush chipping event on January 10th at the New Almaden Community Club. This event is NOT a roadside pickup program. Community members must bring eligible material directly to the site within the designated window. ��Learn more at https://sccfiresafe.org/prepare/chipping-events/