Grassroots Beginnings
In 2018, 12 residents got together to discuss the impacts of catastrophic fires on our communities and dream up strategies for safer outcomes in the future. This was the birth of the FSO Steering Committee!
The Steering Committee meets monthly on the third Tuesday of the month from 3:30 – 5pm, via Zoom. All FSO members are welcome to join us; to attend a meeting, register using this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84928125813?pwd=V3hjemJnZm8vRjlTSjRWQ2VNUGsxQT09
Get Involved
FSO gets things done through volunteers like you, and there are plenty of opportunities to lend your skills in big and small ways—whether it’s organizing an educational event, posting on social media, writing grant applications, or researching a topic like fire resilient landscaping for our area.
- Join your local Neighborhood Group
- Join Fire Safe Occidental to to help out with town-wide projects
- Join a Safer West County sub-committee (education, business, etc.)
Donate
Help us help you by donating to our cause. Fire Safe Occidental is a part of Safer West County (a 501.C.3), making your donation tax deductible. Please notate if you are donating to Safer West County’s general fund or specifically to Fire Safe Occidental.
Intertwined Communities: Safer West County
In 2019, the Steering Committee of FSO realized that in working towards our mission, we needed to create an organization that goes beyond the boundaries of Occidental’s Services District, tapping into a larger ecosystem by looking at our surrounding watersheds and “firesheds.” We formed Safer West County (SWC), applied for and received non-profit status and began reaching out to our neighboring communities in 2020. SWC now has representatives in most of the communities from the Russian River south, west of Sebastopol, north of Bodega Highway, and east of the coast.