October Open House

On October 5 we hosted, along with the Ventura County Supervisor and the Ventura County Fire Department, an open house at Fire Station 36. This was a really fun family event similar to last year’s successful event. Approximately 350 residents attended. Some of the fun things that happened were:

• Fire trucks for kids to sit in and fire hats to wear
• Goats. Yes, the kids were able to pet them
• Ice Cream Truck
• Several agencies and organizations were in attendance for those who wanted to discuss improved fire resiliency, insurance benefits, etc. These included Triunfo Water District and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Oak Park Fire Safe Council and of course On Target Grazing, a company that provides goats for fuel mitigation, which many of you may have seen on hillsides around Oak Park. Supervisor Gorrell was on hand to speak with residents, and displayed a passion for fire resiliency.

It was a hot day, so at one point the fire department opened up a hose for the kids to run through. The adults appreciated it too.

Most importantly, many people took home information about how to make their homes more fire resilient. Another Oak Park Home Owners Association asked us to present the Firewise program to its members as well. We also had another 35 residents sign up for our monthly newsletter, which shares important information about your Fire Safe Council and current events regarding fire resiliency.

Historically, we have done town halls at the community center, but the open house is much more family friendly, and we hope to continue to host this event annually. One idea for next year’s event is to include at least one representative from the California Department of Insurance.

Many thanks to all of our partners who participated in the event, particularly Supervisor Gorrell’s office and the Ventura County Fire Department. And of course, many thanks to all of the residents who took time out of their busy schedules to learn more about how to help protect Oak Park from wildfire.