We are proud to announce our City has earned Firewise Communities/USA® recognition from the National Firewise Communities Program, due to efforts in reducing the vulnerability of homes and landscapes to wildfire. In 2007 the City of Big Bear Lake was the 2nd incorporated City in California to be recognized with the Firewise distinction. We join many other communities nationwide that have been recognized since the program’s inception in 2002.

The City of Big Bear Lake worked with Federal, State and Local Agencies to complete a Community Wildfire Protection Plan which addresses wildfire safety concerns within the Big Bear Valley from a “Systems Approach”. The City created a local Firewise team. Utilizing private citizen involvement and various City Departments, the team developed a mass media campaign to implement a Citywide Neighborhood Chipping Program. The campaign included distributing wildfire awareness brochures, radio ads, television infomercials and the launch of a new website: www.thinisin.org. In addition, numerous community meetings were held over the course of a time  to educate citizens on wildfire awareness.  In 2007and again in 2008, more than 1300 property owners removed over 1555 tons of vegetation from properties throughout the community.  In 2009 approximately 1900 property owners participated in the neighborhood chipping program. It is estimated that 1 million pounds of vegetation was chipped and removed from properties.   Firewise Communities designation is a remarkable achievement that demonstrates the significance of public involvement. Without participation from the public, we would not have received such an award.  There are now two other communities in the Big Bear Valley that have now received the Firewise USA Community designation. They are the communities of Big Bear City and Fawnskin 

Working through the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), state forestry agencies support the Firewise Communities/USA recognition effort. The program is a nationwide initiative that recognizes communities for taking action to protect people and properties from the risk of fire in the wildland/urban interface. This program is of special interest to small communities and neighborhood associations that are willing to mitigate against wildfire by adopting and implementing programs tailored to their needs. The communities create the programs themselves with cooperative assistance from state forestry agencies and local fire department staff and fire safe councils.

Fire-prone communities can work with local professionals to earn Firewise Communities/USA status by meeting the following criteria:

• Enlist a wildland/urban interface specialist to complete a community assessment and create a plan that identifies agreed-upon achievable solutions to be implemented by the community.
• Sponsor a local Firewise Task Force Committee, Commission or Department, which maintains the Firewise Communities/USA program and tracks its progress or status.
• Observe a Firewise Communities/USA Day annually, dedicated to a local Firewise project.
• Invest a minimum of $2.00 per capita annually in local Firewise projects. (Work by municipal employees or volunteers using municipal and other equipment can be included, as can state/federal grants dedicated to that purpose.)
• Submit an annual report to Firewise Communities/USA that documents continuing compliance with the program.

Firewise Communities/USA is a part of the National Firewise Communities Program, an interagency program designed to encourage local solutions for wildfire safety by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters, and others in the effort to protect people and property from the risk of wildfire. For more information, visit www.firewise.org

Mayor, Liz Harris