The Oak Park Fire Safe Council is excited to share our inaugural Newsletter with you. Since it is our first, we thought we would take the opportunity to share a bit about the Oak Park Fire Safe Council and our history, mission and objectives, and accomplishments to date.
Along with corporate doners, federal, state and local agencies are providing substantial amounts of grant and budgetary monies to address the issue of wildfire impact on California communities. Much of this funding is provided through 800-plus Fire Safe Councils, which are non-profit organizations tasked with protecting life and property from wildfire in their respective communities.
In late 2021, as a result of the Woolsey Fire, college student Sam Gunn decided to try and do something about the wildfire threat to his community, Oak Park. He and his mom, Lori Gunn, pulled together some initial meetings, including a Town Hall in December 2021, that included the Ventura County Supervisor and the Ventura County Fire Department. There was a call for volunteers, and six of us signed up and became the Oak Park Fire Safe Council, an activity committee under the Community Foundation for Oak Park (providing us our non-profit status).
Our mission is to work with fire-related agencies and organizations to help protect life and property from wildfire in Oak Park. Our three primary objectives help achieve this mission:
- Advancing wildfire education for Oak Park homeowners and residents – through programs such as Ready, Set, Go; Firewise; and Home Wildfire Assessments
- Assisting with fuel mitigation for homeowners and in the Open Space areas of Oak Park – through Home Wildfire Assessments, Chipper Days at local parks, and working closely with Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District in areas under their control such as Medea Creek
- Providing a communications hub that connects our wildfire-related agencies and organizations, the residents of Oak Park, and the Oak Park Fire Safe Council – through our website, social media outreach and collaborative relationships with outside organizations
Over the past two years, we have received a number of grants for programs in support of these objectives. These grants have allowed us to build a solid foundation to better achieve our objectives, secure additional grant monies for additional programs, and most importantly, reduce the wildfire risk to Oak Park life and property now and in the future.
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