NEVADA CITY, Calif. January 8, 2018 – The Lake Vera-Round Mountain Neighborhood Association (LVRMNA) is the latest Nevada County neighborhood to obtain official certification as a Firewise Community. The news came via email on Sunday to the neighborhood’s Firewise working group. Joining 44 neighborhood groups in Nevada County, LVRMNA’s certification by the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise program is the culmination of several years of efforts by a group of neighbors led by Jim Hurley.
“We’re official! Jim has been looking forward to this for a long, long time. Now we can get to work and help all our neighbors,” group coordinator Gloria Novak stated in an email. She was referring to the planned actions by the group, including free defensible space advisory visits by Fire Safe Council advisors, community education events, brush cutting parties and Scotch Broom removal days. If you live in the area, feel free to join the neighborhood association by emailing LVRMNA@gmail.com and include you name, address, and phone number. There is no cost to join.
The LVRM Firewise Community includes 478 parcels of which 349 are developed with residences and an estimated population of 831 people based on US Census data. It also includes four seasonal camps for children and The Burton Homestead operated as a year-round environmental and cultural learning center. The assessment area encompasses land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and California State Parks Department, situated mostly along the northern portion of the assessment area, according to the Hazard Assessment report.
Many people are familiar with the neighborhood as Lake Vera/Purdon Road is the access road to the very popular Purdon Crossing, a part of State Park’s South Yuba River Park. Educating both residents and visitors to the area is an ongoing task for the group, but given the enthusiasm of its members the “Firewise Lifestyle” will be spread far and wide.
Congratulations to the Firewise working group: Jim Hurley, Gloria Novak, Jeanne and George Scarmon, Marilyn and Verne Taylor, Bill Wilson and Fire Safe Council of Nevada County Executive Director Joanne Drummond for shepherding another community through the process.