At 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 8, people began arriving at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building to receive their free Go Bags from United Way of Nevada County, community partners and the County of Nevada.
By the time the doors opened at 9 a.m. there was a line around the building.
“We handed out 200 pet and people Go Bags, 100 people first aid kits, 100 pet first aid kits, 100 solar chargers and 100 hand-crank radios. Community partners had everything from mylar blankets, to toothbrushes and shelf stable snacks,” said Alex Keeble-Toll,Senior Administrative Analyst for the Office of Emergency Services (OES).
Keeble-Toll and others on her team worked with United Way of Nevada County (UWNC) to organize the event that attracted more than 800 people from the community. Funding for Go Bag supplies came from Proposition 172 (the Local Public Safety Protection and Improvement Act), a grant from California Fire Safe Council and Nevada County’s OES outreach budget.
“We were very excited to see so many people come to the first one of these and proud of our community for caring enough to come and prepare themselves to be ready for wildfire season,” said Louise Reed, Executive Director of UWNC.
Reed and her small team helped coordinate partner organizations at the event such as the City of Nevada City, Grass Valley Fire Department, AAA, 211/Connecting Point and Interfaith Food Ministry. “It was really to help ensure that people had the information they needed to be prepared,” said Reed.
This summer, UWNC will be reaching out to the public during a number of community events and farmers markets throughout the region in Yuba, Sutter, Sierra, Placer and Nevada County. Emergency preparedness resources are also distributed to Interfaith Food Ministry clients and are available at their physical office and online at https://uwnc.org/home.
That collaborative team approach to individual, community and regional wildfire preparedness is causing a positive ripple effect throughout Nevada County. Everyone is realizing that they have a stake in the game and can do something to be part of the solution in an achievable way.
“It takes everyone to increase Nevada County’s emergency preparedness as a whole,” said Taylor Wolfe, Public Information Officer for the County Executive Office.
Final Green Waste Day is Monday, June 17
Getting ready for wildfire season is an all hands on deck attitude. That’s why Nevada County in partnership with Waste Management of Nevada County, CAL FIRE, City of Grass Valley, City of Nevada City and Nevada County Consolidated Fire District is offering an additional free Green Waste Day on Monday, June 17. The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McCourtney Road Transfer Station in Grass Valley.
Since April, the community has participated in five green waste days. Monday’s event is a final opportunity to clean up tree branches, shrubs, grass clippings and more from around homes before summer is officially here.
“With the increasing threat of wildfires, it’s important that we all do our part to protect our properties,” said Office of Emergency Services Director Craig Griesbach.
The Green Waste events are extremely popular. So far this year, 1,000 residents have discarded more than 400 tons of green waste.
Soon, wildfire conditions will make vegetation removal activities unsafe, including the use of equipment like chainsaws. Additionally, CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit (NEU) just announced that residential burn piles will no longer be allowed starting Monday. The free green waste disposal days are funded by the County of Nevada through American Rescue Plan Act Funds (ARPA).
“I’m grateful to all residents who are cleaning up their land and I hope even more will do so. We encourage everyone to take advantage of these free disposal programs to help mitigate the risk of wildfire,” said Griesbach.
Community preparedness
Go Bag Parties and Green Waste Days are just two examples of programs the County is collaboratively doing with community partners and individuals to help prepare for wildfire season. Working with Firewise Communities and providing “microgrants” is another important piece of the equation.
Firewise Communities are volunteer groups of neighbors who work together to make their communities more resilient against wildfire. This year, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services has awarded 26 micro-grants of $3,600 each to Firewise Communities to mitigate wildfire risks.
Communities are using the funding to rent chippers, remove trees, clear brush, smooth out bumpy roads, create fire breaks and more.
Griesbach and his team are grateful for the volunteers who step up to protect their neighborhoods. “They provide more value in our community through their engagement than any entity in the County,” he said.
With support from Nevada County’s Office of Emergency Services and the microgrants, volunteers living within the You Bet Firewise Community are able to purchase emergency radio equipment, clear vegetation from dangerous sections of roadway and deploy green waste bins at strategic locations.
The 13,000-acre community spreads out along a nine-mile stretch of the winding, rural You Bet Road. Mammoth in size, the firewise community encompasses 700 parcels.
“You Bet Road is our lifeline and supports over 75 side roads within our community that feed into it. We’re so large that we divided into 20 sub Firewise Communities,” said Kristen Cook who started the You Bet Firewise Community five years ago. “We’re using the most recent microgrant to upgrade our General Mobile Radio Service repeater that the whole community relies upon for emergency fire alerts as well as to find out if You Bet Road is blocked or open for evacuation.”
The community is in an area of extreme fire hazard, with only one way in and way out. The community isn’t alone with this distinction. CAL FIRE has identified over 90 percent of Nevada County as being within a high or very high fire hazard severity zone.
You Bet Road dead ends at the Peninsula Campground at Rollins Lake, where recreation visitors from out of the area flock during the summer months. Runaway campfires and burn piles, homeless camps, faulty generators and exploding propane tanks have put the community at risk. Over the years, there have been numerous close calls, including the 2021 River Fire that burned 2,619 acres.
Outreach efforts by representatives from Nevada County OES have included tours of potential evacuation routes, attendance at quarterly town hall meetings and ongoing availability for support. To date, You Bet Firewise Community has received several $3,600 microgrants for wildfire preparedness.
“OES has been a good partner for us and is super responsive,” said Cook. “Microgrants are a really cool way to get money into the community without a lot of red tape,” she added.
Leading her Firewise Community requires a lot of time and dedication but Cook says the effort has big rewards. “The properties with good defensible space have more than doubled and the improvement is dramatic,” said Cook, adding that being involved in her Firewise Community has helped to forge stronger connections with her neighbors and really builds the sense of community.
“We’re all in this together. And, we’ve learned there are things that are within our control that will help us save our homes. Every little bit helps; a rising tide floats all boats,” she said.
Regional Preparedness
On May 31, Elected officials from the County Board of Supervisors, the City of Grass Valley, City of Nevada City and the Town of Truckee came together for a joint meeting focusing on emergency preparedness.
“We got to speak about our own experiences during recent emergencies, what we’ve heard from the public, how we can work better together,” said District Two County Supervisor Ed Scofield.
The group also heard from Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly and Town of Paradise Council Member Steve Crowder about their experiences with major events such as the Camp Fire.
“I found this discussion to be the most impactful, thinking about how we can work with residents on vegetation, evacuation and neighbor to neighbor communication,” said Scofield.
Earlier this month, CAL FIRE NEU hosted its annual all hands meeting, recognizing the County’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) team with a Partnership Award. Supervisor Scofield was struck by how the county team serves the community by “showing up, collaborating with our partners and keeping the community’s best interest at heart.”
The Office of Emergency Services (OES) supports wildfire resilience in Nevada County in a number of ways, through planning for emergencies, mitigating hazards, responding to disasters and assisting the community through recovery.
Through strategic partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, and contractors, important large-scale hazardous fuel reduction projects are underway like the Ponderosa West Grass Valley Defense Zone, the Woodpecker Ravine project and the 6,000 acre South Yuba Rim Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project on the San Juan Ridge. Yuba Watershed Institute is hosting a Town Hall meeting at Grizzly Hill School from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on June 26 to introduce the South Yuba Rim project to the community.
Currently, the county’s OES team is working with FEMA on a Roadside Vegetation Planning Project to map county right of ways where federal funds can be used to improve evacuation routes.
Individual Preparedness
There are a number of manageable, proactive steps one person can take to get ready for wildfire season.
Later this month, the annual Ready, Set, Go! guides will begin arriving in mailboxes. The handbook gives residents tools and resources to work through their emergency preparedness plans, including easy step-by-step instructions for signing up for emergency alerts, knowing evacuation zones and pro tips for creating Go-Bags and “Find Your Five” emergency plans with family, neighbors and friends.
“Don’t wait to figure out your evacuation options. Use the pre-planning tool, map your routes, drive them to make sure they are doable and integrate this into your plan. And while you are at it, make sure that your driveway and your property along private roads are clear of hazardous vegetation,” said Keeble-Toll.
Residents can learn more about preparing for fire season, from what to put in their go-bag to making an emergency plan, at www.readynevadacounty.org.
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Laura Petersen is a freelance writer living in Grass Valley. This is one of a series of articles written on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.