Nevada City, Calif. – It takes a lot to become a Firewise Community: forming a committee, doing a fire risk assessment, making an action plan and recording the hours and money spent making homes and the community safer. But the hardest part is gathering the community and getting everyone to work together.

Now, with support from Nevada City OES and their partnership with Neighbor to Neighbor, a program of the California Volunteers Office of the Governor, Fire Safe Nevada County Coalition (the Coalition) has created a simple and fun how-to guide for an old-fashioned BBQ block party – with Firewise Community outreach and fire prevention education thrown in.

“Firewise Communities play a vital role in keeping our homes and neighborhoods safe during a wildfire, said Camille Oneto, Nevada City OES specialist. “Nevada City recognizes no one can do it alone. We want neighbors to work together to stay safer from wildfire.”

The toolkit’s goal is to get neighbors together, make it fun, and slip in just enough Firewise information to keep everyone safer, said Coalition President Jo Ann Fites-Kaufman. “We know being Firewise is easier and more enjoyable when neighbors are working together,” she said. “We also know food is a proven way to draw people in.”

The step-by-step tool kit, called “Build a Safer Block, One BBQ at a Time”– although it could just as easily be an ice cream social or a potluck brunch – breaks down the steps to hosting a casual neighborhood Firewise event. The guide is filled with checklists, budgeting tips, event timelines, scripts for delivering key Firewise messages, and most important, ideas for successfully getting a community members working with each other to make their neighborhood safer.

The toolkit is available to download on the Nevada City OES website https://www.nevadacityca.gov/300/Fire-Wise-Communities, and the Coalition website, at https://firesafecoalitionnc.org/.

The toolkit is brought to you by the Nevada City Office of Emergency Services in partnership with Neighbor-to-Neighbor, a Program of California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, and created by the Fire Safe Nevada County Coalition, a local, non-profit volunteer-driven organization dedicated to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in Nevada County.