Nevada County, CA — Wildfire-Ready Coalition of Nevada County will hold a webinar on tree removal and logging on private property on Thursday, April 16, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
“Figuring out how to deal with trees that are too close to your home, roads, or are a fire risk can be overwhelming,” said Jo Ann Fites-Kaufman, fire scientist and forest ecologist, and Coalition president. “Many of us here in Nevada County face this challenge and need to know what actions we can take.”
The webinar, presented by Fites-Kaufman and Katherine Benedict, Registered Professional Forester, will cover basic options for removing or thinning trees; when permits are needed; and what resources may be available to help pay for the work.
“It’s a simple, practical overview to help you get started,” said Fites-Kaufman.
Residents Ramp Up Readiness for Wildfire Season
The logging webinar is the latest in a series of workshops, forest walks and webinars that provide critical information to Nevada County residents who want to make their homes, landscapes, roads and forests safer from wildfire.
“All of the Coalition’s events are developed in response to questions and concerns that residents have brought to Wildfire-Ready Coalition,” said Fites-Kaufman. “We are listening to what they tell us.”
“Our educational events have engaged over 200 Nevada County residents just this year,” she said, “and many of the event attendees are ‘repeat customers.’ They are determined to learn all that they can.”
Safe Evacuations, Wildfire-Ready Roads
A Wildfire-Ready Roads webinar last week focused on evacuation—a top concern for Nevada County residents. Led by You Bet Firewise Community Leader Kristen Cook, it showed simple ways to apply CAL FIRE defensible space guidelines to make roads safer and introduced a wildfire-ready road safety rating system.
“When people received a grade of D or F, they were immediately motivated to learn how to improve their road’s wildfire readiness,” said Cook.
Community Engagement Year-Around
Other Coalition events drew large crowds this year, building community engagement around wildfire readiness.
In February, Hearts on Fire, an art-centered event celebrating love for place, community, and wildfire resilience, brought over 200 to the Miners Foundry.
In late March, the premiere of Standing Dead: Overstocked. Overgrown. Overdue., a documentary commissioned by the Coalition, was attended by 140 people, and subsequently viewed more than 700 times on YouTube. The film examines the North Complex Fire that devastated Plumas and Butte counties in 2020, and explores how similar conditions that exist in Nevada County make it a “ticking time bomb.”
“The documentary helped people understand the scale and urgency of the problem,” said Fites-Kaufman. “The next step is action.”
On May 2, the Coalition will host a Wildfire-Ready Festival & Expo to prepare residents for wildfire season and kick off National Wildfire Awareness Month.
About the Wildfire Ready Coalition of Nevada County
Wildfire-Ready Coalition of Nevada County is a volunteer-driven nonprofit empowering neighborhoods with wildfire education, Firewise formation support, defensible space tools, and collaborative mitigation strategies. Its mission is to move communities from awareness to action while strengthening neighbor-to-neighbor resilience.