Biochar is a preferred alternative to pile burning for vegetation management because it reduces smoke (and carbon emissions), increases soil and forest health, and reduces scarring on the forest floor. The best part is that it’s an easy modification to traditional...
Header Photo Credit: Ian Nelson Sonoma Ecology Center, Pepperwood, and Occidental Arts and Ecology Center recently launched a new, free in-depth online resource for Sonoma County land stewards. Tending the Land is a A website guide for anyone who plays a role in...
Photo Credit: Resilient Landscape Coalition; Design by April Owens, photo by Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic A few weeks ago, over 200 residents toured the Safer West County's member gardens with Ellie Insley, where they learned how to garden and create a fire-resilient...
Watch Duty is a non-profit that provides realtime alerting and monitoring of Wildfires in the American West. For updates about fires, wind conditions, etc: Watch Duty incorporates fire mapping, wind direction, Cal Fire aircraft tracking, and more. Watch Duty has...
This Project: A stone and gravel walkway (similar to the one pictured above) will create a beautiful (and nonflammable) area next to your home! Dimensions: 100 sq ft (20 ft by 5 ft) space Estimated Labor Cost: $990 (not including tax) Materials 4” of base rock...
Safer West County hosted insurance meetings over the past few months (one in Occidental and then one in Monte Rio) to help residents understand the current insurance landscape and give homeowners practical information to help keep or secure insurance. Key...
Story by Mike Nicholls During and following the Walbridge Fire in 2020. Cazadero had no 911 service for days – our telephone landline provider, Frontier Communications experienced a central office back-up battery failure, Comcast/Xfinity failed once their battery...
Cal Fire has initiated a training of people outside their organization to help expand the ease with which we can have our properties assessed. Assessments help us understand our highest risks and how to reduce them—empowering us to make our homes more fire-resilient,...
In 2020, a dry lightning storm that ignited hundreds of simultaneous wildfires across the West and kicked off the worst fire season on record. Martin, along with thousands of other Californians, evacuated her home in the midst of a pandemic. The Last Fire Season by...
Fires are driven by hot dry winds that are funneled through our hilly terrain. These dangerous winds return time and again. As a physical form of our hills is fixed, fire sometimes burn the same area more than once. Native American Era, 8000 BCE to 1836 Native...