Firewise USA

Start by reaching out to the Tahoe Basin Regional Coordinator. In the Basin, the Tahoe Resource Conservation’s District’s Fire Adapted Communities Program Coordinator is the Tahoe Basin Regional Coordinator. They will guide you through the Firewise process, connect you with local fire districts, and serve as your primary contact throughout your journey.

Assemble a committee of at least three residents to lead your Firewise efforts. The committee will define community boundaries, oversee the risk assessment, and develop an action plan to reduce wildfire risks. 

• The committee should identify a leader who will be the program point of contact. 

• The committee defines the boundaries of the site and determines the number of individual single family dwelling units. The community size must be at least 8 dwelling units and a maximum of 2,500. 

This committee will collaborate to complete the community’s five-year risk reduction assessment, develop a three-year action plan based on the risk assessment and oversee the completion of the annual renewal requirements needed to retain an “in good standing” status. This includes one defensible space clean-up day and one educational event per year. 

Complete the Firewise USA Community Risk Assessment, using the template below. The assessment should be a community-wide view that identifies areas of successful wildfire risk reduction and areas where improvements could be made. The risk assessment will need to be updated every five years. 

You must fill out this NFPA 5-year Risk Assessment form.  

The Tahoe Basin Regional Coordinator with your local fire districts will help you with the Risk Assessment and your community map. 

Using the risk assessment, the committee will create a three-year action plan focused on risk reduction projects. The plan identifies and prioritizes actions aimed at mitigating wildfire risks to residential properties. This plan should include community investments, homeowner actions, and educational initiatives.  These actions should build on one another. The action plan will need to be updated every three years. 

You must fill out this CalFire  3-year Action Plan, specifying annual goals with measurable progress. 

Your committee can use this example Action Plan as a model for your community. 

Organize a required annual community workday to collaborate on creating defensible space. This event brings the community together to take collective action in reducing wildfire risks. 

Each year, you must report your wildfire risk reduction activities through your Firewise portal. At a minimum, each site is expected to invest the equivalent of one volunteer hour per dwelling unit annually in wildfire risk reduction efforts.  

For instance, if your site encompasses 100 homes, it will be necessary to accumulate 100 hours of work or the corresponding monetary value to satisfy this investment requirement. 

To begin the application process, you must go to portal.firewise.org and create an account. Once you have an account, you will create your Site Profile.

Firewise Application Portal Webinar

Firewise Leaders Guide to the Firewise USA Portal

Firewise USA Program Toolkit

When you are ready to begin your community’s application, log into your account and from your Site Profile dashboard, select “Start New Application”. This will open the “Firewise USA Application” overview page.

Complete all required sections of the application, upload your Five-Year Risk Assessment and Three-Year Action Plan in the designated areas. After finalizing your application, the Tahoe Basin Regional Coordinator must review it before submitting.

Your completed application will then be reviewed by CAL FIRE/ Nevada Division of Forestry and the NFPA. Should any revisions be necessary, you will receive an email with feedback notes which the Regional Coordinator will also receive and assist you with. If your application is approved, you will receive an email with your recognition certificate.