NEVADA CITY, Calif., May 6, 2026 – The Board of Directors of the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County met this morning in a special meeting. The agenda was sparse, consisting of public comment and a closed session. Meanwhile, both Executive Director Jamie Jones and former Director of Operations Chris Wackerly, indicted on multiple felony charges, have been released on bail as of this afternoon.
The total bail amount for Jones was reduced and both produced documentation as to how they plan on paying for bond. The District Attorney’s office had filed a source of funds motion to make sure bail wouldn’t be posted with ill-gotten gains. Jones and Wackerly surrendered their passports to the court at this morning’s hearing.
Before the meeting began, in a rather chilly small conference room, we asked if the board had placed Jones on administrative leave and revoked her access to any FSCNC assets, including bank accounts. “We will discuss many things in closed session,” Board President Pete Williams said. Asked about information on their website, Interim Treasurer Susan Williams replied that she was in the process of getting access to the backend and updates would be made soon.
May 6, 2026 at 6:50 PM Update: The website for the FSCNC and any documents that resided on the website https://www.areyoufiresafe.com/ are no longer accessible.
Only one member of the public was present for the public portion of the meeting (and two reporters.) Todd Nelson, a retired CAL FIRE Captain, worked as a track chipper operator for the Fire Safe Council and recounted some of the irregularities he witnessed.
This afternoon, the FSCNC issued the press release below.
The Board of Directors of the Fire Safe Council convened a special meeting today to discuss next steps following the indictment of Executive Director Jamie Jones and her husband, Chris Wackerly.
During the meeting, the Board received public comment, including concerns expressed by a community member, before adjourning to closed session for deliberations.
The Board is actively reviewing the situation and is carefully considering statements and allegations as information becomes available. At this time, the Board is particularly interested in seeing actual evidence to help guide further actions.
As an immediate measure, the Board has placed Ms. Jones on administrative leave to allow her to focus on her personal situation. The organization is also taking steps to secure all property and financial accounts and is conducting a thorough review of grant status, payments, and accounting records to ensure continuity, transparency and accountability.
Board Chair Pete Williams stated, “This is deeply distressing for everyone involved. We are committed to maintaining the operations of the Fire Safe Council during this challenging time, while exercising due diligence in safeguarding the organization’s assets. We also firmly believe that all individuals are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
The Fire Safe Council remains focused on continuing its mission and serving the community without disruption including conducting defensible space advisory visits, assisting neighborhoods in forming new Firewise Communities, and additional wildfire prevention and preparedness services.
Fire Safe Council press release