County staff described two parallel steps now available to communities seeking to lower wildfire insurance risk: (1) State-level “fire risk reduction community” listing and (2) NFPA Firewise USA community recognition. Mariposa County submitted a countywide application for the state’s fire risk reduction community list; staff said that designation, if awarded, becomes part of insurer rate‑making considerations under California Department of Insurance rules.

Staff noted the Department of Insurance regulation requires insurers to consider a policyholder’s wildfire mitigation actions — for example recognized Firewise status or documented defensible‑space work — when setting premiums. ‘‘If a community is Firewise recognized and the county is on the fire risk reduction community list, insurers must consider those steps when they do rate making,’’ the supervisor said in summary of the rule.

Committee response and next steps

Committee members asked county staff to prepare a map and parcel‑level listing that shows the current Cal Fire defensible‑space inspection results for Wawona properties so residents can see what is documented and what they might need to do to improve defensible space. Staff agreed to extract the Cal Fire inspection data produced for the county and to make it available on request and in aggregate for community planning.

Committee members also asked the county and Cal Fire to help re‑start a community‑level Firewise recognition effort in Wawona. Several residents said a neighborhood‑by‑neighborhood approach — building success on a few streets first rather than attempting recognition for every parcel at once — would be more practical given the area’s mix of owner willingness and private land patterns.

Ending: County staff said they will provide defensible‑space inspection data to the committee and will coordinate with Cal Fire and the county’s fuels program on next steps to pursue Firewise recognition for targeted neighborhoods in Wawona. Committee members said they expect reduced insurance costs and stronger defensible‑space outcomes to follow if the community undertakes and documents mitigation work.