Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Washoe County pilot cleared vegetation, installed smoke alarms and offered plants in West Reno neighborhood
Summary
An intern-led pilot in West Reno reached 39 homes for defensible-space inspections, removed hazardous vegetation at 24 properties, installed smoke alarms and provided perennials for revegetation; county staff say the grant-funded model can be replicated with more funding.
Alana Berry, an intern with Washoe County Emergency Management, told the Board of County Commissioners that a River Park defensible-space pilot reached dozens of households in West Reno to reduce wildfire risk.
Berry said the program used door hangers, bilingual mailers with a QR code and a community meeting to recruit participants from a 229-home neighborhood. Forty residents attended a kickoff meeting and 39 homes opted into defensible-space inspections; six properties required no work. The American Red Cross installed 101 smoke alarms during a companion interior-safety effort.
Vegetation removal took place over a weekend: 24 homes signed up, volunteers logged roughly 107 hours and crews collected about 80 cubic yards of green waste. Moana Nursery donated 117 perennials and provided coupons so participating homeowners could each pick up three fire‑wise plants. The county also distributed buckets with gardening supplies to support revegetation.
The pilot included an opt‑in interior inspection option (23 households) and a homeowner survey; Berry reported that survey respondents expressed high satisfaction and that 100% would participate again. She said the pilot was paid in part from a green-recovery grant (about $15,000) with an additional $5,000 directed to revegetation.
Commissioners praised the outreach, asked how nonparticipating residents could access resources, and were told the county website links to partner resources (Living With Fire, Red Cross, Reno Fire) and that the county would pursue replication when funding is available.
The county framed the pilot as a low‑cost, community-driven model combining inspections, volunteer labor and partner donations to reduce home ignition risk and increase resident preparedness. The board encouraged staff to seek further funding and replicate the approach in other high‑risk neighborhoods.
