ZOOM & IN PERSON EVENTS:

RECENT PAST EVENTS

PAST EVENTS: Kensington Library-July 9th from 6-7:30 PM: Wildfire Awareness & Prep Panel. Presenters include Mary Beth Bykowsky (State Dept of Insurance); Michelle Rinehart from (CC County Fire Protection). Johnny Valenzuela (Kensington Fire Protection District and Alan Siegel (Wildcat Firewise Community). Includes a free emergency kit and strategies to apply for and receive support for projects linked to wildfire.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER WORKSHOP: Saturday, July 13 - Check Your Fire Extinguishers, 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m. @ 139 Purdue Ave. If you last evaluated or replaced your fire extinguisher at our 2018 event, it is probably time to do a re-check to ensure their readiness for use. See below for the price schedule and a longer description from Best Fire Equipment. RSVP to Kay@blonz.com

SUMMER ZOOM EVENT: Monday June 10th at 7 PM:

STRATEGIES FOR A FIRE SAFE SUMMER, LOW WATER DEER-RESISTANT, NATIVE PLANTS plus Wildcat Firewise Update and Summer Disaster prep strategies and brief updates on insurance cancellations, grant funding, need for more active volunteers and time and expense form update.

Twenty-five people attended our March 23, 2024, Educational Home Assessment tour with Captain Traviss Crumpacker of El Cerrito-Kensington Fire Department. We learned about home hardening by using three resident’s homes on Kensington Road as examples. We also toured one of the emergency evacuation exits on Kensington Road that allow passage to the UUCB Church parking area. We got a chance to meet Captain Tom Peters who will soon be increasing his time with fire prevention activities.

2nd MEASURE X CHIPPING DAY—March 11, 2024— Funded by Measure X for Wildcat Firewise Community, for fuel reduction, small tree limbing, chipping and more. Our beautiful neighborhood has much in common with the major factors that the press has been emphasizing went wrong in Maui—extremely poor evacuation options, most homes are not hardened and the vast amounts of flammable foliage that surrounds our homes and is just behind us in Wildcat.

WINTER ZOOM: JANUARY 7, 2024 7 PM— HOME HARDENING AND FUEL MANAGEMENT WITH CAPTAIN TRAVISS CRUMPACKER OF EL CERRITO-KENSINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.

1st MEASURE X CHIPPING DAY—October 2023— Funded by Measure X for Wildcat Firewise Community, for fuel reduction, small tree limbing, chipping and more.

55 PEOPLE ATTENDED OUR WALKING TOUR OF WILDCAT FIREWISE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2023:’ This included 4 officers from El Cerrito-Kensington Fire along with fire trucks positioned throughout our community! in addition Johnny Valenzuela and Larry Nagle of Kensington Fire joined us. We checked out possible emergency evacuation routes, examined hazards in Wildcat Canyon and around our homes and in the PGE easement that was the site of the August 8th grass fire.

WILDCAT FIREWISE NEEDS YOUR HELP: CAN YOU HELP WITH FUNDRAISING, GRANT WRITING, OR DONATE $, TIME OR EQUIPMENT?

REPORTING HOURS & EXPENSES FOR HOME HARDENING AND FUEL REDUCTION: We will briefly explain how residents of Wildcat Firewise must report their donated labor, monetary or in-kind contributions (like donation of tools or wheelbarrow, money spent on clearly brush or ANY other fire prevention hours of labor or expenses, etc.). This tally is crucial and should take about 5 minutes a month for each household and you will be sent a very simple automated form to remind you each month. Keep in mind that even tasks such as reducing foliage around your home, cleaning or replacing gutters, improving home hardening, etc. …count as in-kind donations that will make your home and our neighborhood safe but will also help us obtain matching funding grants!

BRIEF UPDATE ON CURRENT TEAMS/COMMITTEES: WE NEED MORE HELP!! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!

A) WECOM EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NETWORK: 25 members meeting weekly for 15-20 minutes— Tuesdays at 7 PM on GMRS radio, coordinated by Armando Picciotto.

Apicciotto2016@gmail.com⁠

⁠

B) HOME INSURANCE RESEARCH AND UPDATE ON WHICH COMPANIES ARE CANCELLING AND WHICH ARE WRITING POLICIES: Coordinated by Tom Ayres. Very occasional meetings, and group email discussions to keep our members informed. If you have been cancelled or found a new insurance company, contact

tjayres@sbcglobal.net⁠

⁠

C) *** FUEL REDUCTION IN WILDCAT CANYON AND OUR HOMES: Coordinated by Alan Siegel. Meets on weekends. We need more volunteers, donations and help with fundraising, and possible donation of tools.

Resource Guide 3 Home Hardening and Defensible Space Resources for Residents.pdf (ca.gov)⁠

⁠

D) *** EVACUATION AND RED FLAG DAY PREP: Coordinated by Alan Siegel, Alice Chanowitz, and Pam Martin. Simulated evacuation drill scheduled for September 9th.

E) *** FUND RAISING, GRANT WRITING, ADMINISTRATIVE HELP: We need skilled members to guide us. Alan has begun to submit grant applications for Contra Costa County Measure X funding. Contact Alan Siegel if you can help or have skills in this area. We will also be seeking donations from members soon.

F) *** NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS! BE A RESILIENCE INFLUENCER and share your knowledge and support others! We also need friendly volunteers that can help guide residents who are not sure how to connect with CWS and other emergency notification apps or are not sure how to analyze and prioritize their home hardening, fuel reduction etc., and could use friendly advice. We also need help with administrative and fund-raising tasks and personal communication with neighbors on our own block. Can you be a resilience influencer for your block?

LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN JOIN ONE OF OUR TEAMS OR CONTRIBUTE YOUR TIME, EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES:

alansiegelphd@gmail.com⁠

or wildcat.firewise@outlook.com

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