NORDEN, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2019) – The Village at Sugar Bowl has achieved certification as a Firewise USA® site from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). To become a certified Firewise community, Sugar Bowl Resort officials and homeowners collaborated with the Truckee Fire Department to obtain a community-wide wildfire risk assessment–a living document that will need to be updated every five years, with an action plan element that should be updated at a minimum of every three years.

The assessment identified areas of successful wildfire risk reduction and areas where improvements could be made, including inspections of each property at Sugar Bowl. From that, the Village at Sugar Bowl action plan was developed to prioritize risk reduction projects and investments, and offer homeowners specific actions and education activities that should be completed annually. Upon completion of these activities, the Village at Sugar Bowl application was submitted for certification review by state liaisons and final processing by the NFPA.

“As we’ve seen across the state over the past several years, the risk of wildfire is high. As a resort and as a community, together with our homeowners, we wanted to take the first steps toward developing a plan to reduce wildfire risk at Sugar Bowl,” said Greg Dallas, Sugar Bowl Resort CEO. “Through active partnership with the Truckee Fire Department, we developed an action plan that qualified us for ‘Firewise site’ certification and have been executing against it.”

Projects that have been undertaken at the Village at Sugar Bowl to meet the requirements of Firewise certification include but are not limited to:

  • Completion of fire inspection reports, in coordination with Truckee Fire, Fire Prevention Specialist, on all residential properties, with recommendations for fire safe compliance
  • Fuel reduction on properties within immediate zones (0-5ft.), intermediate zones (5-30 ft.) and extended zones (30-100ft.)
  • Removal of ladder fuels (vegetation under trees) so a surface fire cannot reach the crowns.
  • Ensuring all properties have visible, reflective house addresses for easy identification
  • Proposal to contract with a registered professional forester to address tree mortality and tree density on Sugar Bowl property to create a healthy forest community

To maintain its Firewise community certification, the resort and homeowners will be required to update the wildfire risk assessment every five years, and the action plan a minimum of at least every three years.

Learn more about Firewise training online at nfpa.org/firewise and more about Sugar Bowl Resort at www.sugarbowl.com.