The fires blazing elsewhere in California are sobering reminders to continue making your home more fire-resilient, step by step. It is no longer a question of whether defensible space and home hardening work; it boils down to what you can afford, what you can do yourself, and how much time you invest.
To learn more about both home hardening and defensible space go to https://saferwestcounty.org/risk-mitigation/ There are lots of easy weekend project ideas you will find there.
To reduce the burden of this work for residents of Camp Meeker, Forestville, Monte Rio and Occidental, you can get free chipping of debris and a $1000 rebate for defensible space work! Both are easy to receive, and all the information is laid on out the Safer West County Grants page.
Here are the steps to take:
How do I get FREE Chipping?
- Limb and trim trees and ladder fuel, and remove dead and dying vegetation
- Create piles for chipping in an easy to reach location
- Apply at https://saferwestcounty.org/grants/
- Your local fire department will come chip the debris for free
- NOTE: if you are outside of these four communities, you can apply for free chipping from the County here: https://permitsonoma.org/divisions/firepreventionandhazmat/servicesandfees/chipperprogram/chipperprogramapplication
How do I get the $1000 rebates?
- Take pictures of the area/project you want to do
- Apply at https://saferwestcounty.org/grants/ (If you haven’t had a home assessment in the last year, let us know on the application you need one and Safer West County will do an assessment for free to help you prioritize projects.)
- Once approved, have a contractor complete the defensible space project
- Send in your invoice from the contractor
- Receive $1000 rebate for a $1500+ invoice or ⅔ of the invoice if less than $1500.
- NOTE: if you cannot afford the $500 portion, let us know in the application and we can provide a $500 scholarship for the first 40 people to apply
Its that easy! Don’t delay!