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Kelsey Creek Firewise organizers describe neighborhood wildfire-hardening steps
Summary
Andy Dobusch presented the boundaries and homeowner benefits of the Kelsey Creek Firewise community, explained Zone Zero practices and an annual work commitment, and noted state-funded Fire Safe coordinators are now assisting Lake County neighborhoods.
Volunteer coordinator Andy Dobusch introduced the newly formed Kelsey Creek Firewise community at the March 11 meeting, describing its boundaries and incentives for homeowners to reduce wildfire risk.
Dobusch said the community’s boundaries run from Kelsey Creek Drive down to the canyon at Adobe Creek, then along Bell Hill Road back to Highway 29. He explained that program participants who follow CalFire guidelines—including a five-foot Zone Zero defensible-space standard and a minimum of one hour per year of property-hardening work—qualify for benefits such as an example 2% discount on a State Farm policy.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska said the County’s GIS might be asked to add Firewise neighborhoods as a map layer; Pyska also pointed to firesafelake.org as a resource. Magdalena Valderrama, a state-funded Fire Safe coordinator, said she is shifting efforts from Sonoma County to Lake County and will help new neighborhoods find leaders and organize a Firewise summit scheduled in April.
Kelsey Creek’s Firewise designation joins some 19–20 other local neighborhoods, staff said. Questions focused on the practical requirements for individual neighborhoods to qualify and how to report annual activities.
No formal County action was taken; the presentation was informational and framed as community outreach and coordination.
