Los Gatos leaders, fire officials and residents push Firewise neighborhood certification to boost wildfire resilience

Town Manager Chris Constantine and Santa Clara County fire officials led a public Firewise orientation that urged Los Gatos neighborhoods to organize for wildfire preparedness and certification.

Town Manager Chris Constantine said the session was meant to “bring the neighborhoods together and kind of give you the tools and resources” to reduce wildfire risk and walk participants through the Firewise USA certification process. He reviewed county-level risk data and local drivers of risk — “fuel, weather, and topography” — and noted that high local property values increase estimated loss in national risk indexes.

The presentation described current mitigation work around the town, including vegetation treatments (the speaker cited roughly 240 acres treated around the hillsides) and a planned 31 miles of road-clearance buffer to improve access and reduce fuels. County fire representatives also described sensor and satellite monitoring supported by partners such as San Jose Water to improve early detection.

Battalion Chief Skyler Thornton of Santa Clara County Fire described his department’s role in community outreach and said the department conducts risk assessments for neighborhoods that begin the Firewise application process. Andrea Constantine of the Santa Clara…