Here are our major activities and accomplishments in October:
Firewise
- Morrison Sutton and Regency Chambord are the most recent HOAs to receive Firewise USA recognition. This makes five Oak Park communities to receive such recognition. Congratulations to our friends at Morrison Sutton and Regency Chambord. Special thanks to Community Leaders Ruth Rose and Kevin Yang of Morrison Sutton, and Bob Cavaglieri of Regency Chambord.
- A sixth HOA, Tract 3141 (roughly bordered by Deerhill to the west, Doubletree to the north and Quarterhorse and Eaglehaven the south), has submitted its application for review to VCFD. Once received back from VCFD, the application will be uploaded for recognition as a Firewise USA community.
- We’ve sent out November 1 Firewise Investment reports to all six existing and pending Firewise communities.
- Many residents are now downloading their Firewise certificates from our website in order to provide them to their insurance companies for discounts on homeowners insurance. In many cases this is a nominal amount; in others it is more substantial. If you have the Fair Plan from the state of California, you will receive a 10% discount for living in a Firewise USA community.
- We have created an initial flyer for Firewise communities to send to their residents regarding Firewise certificates and assessments. This was provided to all Firewise community leaders.
- Vents have been ordered pursuant to Canyon Cove’s $1,500 grant for dryer vent replacement.
Assessments
- Three Home Wildfire Assessments were performed in October.
Marketing
- 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 family event similar to last year’s successful event, which 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 (many of you have seen them on local hillsides mitigating brush). 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. - We sent out the October newsletter.
- We held a marketing planning session for 2025.
- Another 10 residents – more than 910 now – have signed up for our newsletter.
- We created and sent out over Social Media a flyer with information on how to prepare your home for wildfire, now that we are coming into Santa Ana season.
Fundraising and Grants
- We received a small $2,500 grant from Ventura County Fire Safe Council for various marketing activities.
- Stay tuned. We are talking with one of our residents about a significant donation that will have a real impact on our 2025 programs.
Volunteer
- We just added a new member to the board and are looking for an additional board member as well. Please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested in working with us.
