Obtaining a rare neighborhood fire safety recognition has helped one east Morgan Hill neighborhood not only protect itself from a potential out-of-control blaze, but it has also helped strengthen community bonds among residents, according to participants.
The Jackson Oaks Homeowners Association recently earned the national Firewise Communities/USA recognition from the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association. Firewise is a nationwide initiative that provides formal recognition to communities that take actions to protect people and properties from the risk of fire in the “wildland/urban interface,” according to CalFire officials who announced the local Firewise accolade last week. The designation is of particular interest to small communities and neighborhood associations that are willing to put in the work to mitigate wildfire hazards by adopting the Firewise program’s stringent criteria.
Jackson Oaks is the first community in Santa Clara County to obtain the Firewise achievement.
Jackson Oaks resident and HOA member Gale Hammond explained that she and two of her neighbors—Alan Bicho and Linda Vrabel—“got the ball rolling” on obtaining the Firewise recognition in February.
“Given the drought, we thought the timing would be right,” Hammond said.
The HOA went through a series of steps to educate the community and help their neighbors minimize the threat of wildfires on their properties. The first step is producing a wildfire assessment for the neighborhood, followed by a series of educational and community support efforts.
“We’re one of three areas in Morgan Hill that is at high risk for wildfires, in the wildland/urban interface,” Hammond said of the Jackson Oaks neighborhood, which consists of about 500 homes.
The recognition included a number of experts on wildfires in suburban areas who the HOA invited to speak at the community’s clubhouse. The HOA won a $500 grant from State Farm Insurance to assist with the education efforts.
“What that does is tell people how we can take small steps to improve fire safety around our homes: Pick up dead trees and vegetation, not storing firewood right next to your home” for example, Hammond said.
The “biggest” event the HOA organized on their path to Firewise was a “community Firewise day” in June, when more than 20 residents met at an elderly couple’s property on a Saturday morning to help the longtime Jackson Oaks homeowners clear away dead brush that had accumulated around their house.
“We also had chipping days, where the county would come up—this was funded through grants—and chip the wood from the homeowners who had applied to have their wood chipped and taken away,” Hammond added.
The residents worked with the Morgan Hill Fire Department and CalFire throughout the Firewise recognition process. Hammond said authorities have even asked the HOA to give some pointers to other communities in Santa Clara County that might be interested in the Firewise program.
Jackson Oaks residents are waiting to see if the designation will have an impact on insurance rates, but the immediate benefits are worth the effort, said Hammond, who remembers a large wildfire in 1985 in the canyon just east of the neighborhood’s boundary.
“It shows we are keeping ourselves educated and creating defensible areas—our properties won’t necessarily all burn if we have this defensible area,” she said. “And it has been a very good community bonding experience. It’s a very good opportunity to get to know your neighbors.”
Local fire officials gave high praise to the east Morgan Hill neighborhood for their commitment to fire safety.
“Firewise communities are invaluable partners,” said MHFD Fire Marshal Dwight Good. “They provide real grassroots resources to help homeowners deal with the risks of living in wildland areas. Owning property in wildfire prone areas of our state is a huge responsibility and I would urge every homeowner to seek out and become involved in local Firewise efforts.”
The NFPA is a global, nonprofit organization “devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards,” according to their website. To learn more about Firewise and NFPA, visit firewise.org.
