DFSC Celebrates 25 years! 🎂🎉

Dear DFSC Friends,

Diablo Firesafe Council exists because of you. We exist because of fire professionals, homeowners, agency staff, and nonprofit volunteers combining their passion for wildfire safety on behalf of our whole community. 

This newsletter features our 2023 annual report. In all the numbers and stories, you will see DFSC’s positive impact on local wildfire safety. 

We are proud of the past year’s accomplishments which hundreds of people made possible.

Thank you to the homeowners who reduced vegetative fuels. Thank you to the fire professionals who made presentations with us. Thank you to the volunteers working with our partners. Thank you to the government officials and staff who are creating more opportunities for collaboration in both counties. Thank you to our funders for your generous support.

Thank YOU for your support of DFSC. If you are inspired by what DFSC has done for 25 years and continues to do every day, please donate. All donations go to the Cheryl Miller Fund, which enables DFSC to offer free fire-safety education to our neighbors. Your donation is tax deductible. 

You are the reason Diablo Firesafe Council exists.

Kensington resident Alan Siegel poses next to a sign that reads “Another Proud Partner in Wildfire Prevention.” Alan is the coordinator of the Wildcat Firewise Community of 150 homes and more than 350 residents in Kensington and El Cerrito. These neighbors earned a sign to acknowledge their successful cost-share matching project. DFSC received the following message in response.

Join us Thursday December 5 at 3pm via Zoom to continue the RPP update process in our second meeting. Please RSVP for the meeting here. 

We launched our process with a stakeholders meeting in September with about 60 attendees. If you missed the meeting, you can view the recording here.

In updating the 2022 RPP for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties we are identifying high- and medium-priority projects for inclusion, AND creating a list of potential funding sources for the approved projects.

In addition, DFSC is also updating the Alameda County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). See the original CWPP from 2015. We need your help to identify new potential actions to add to this plan as well.

December 5 Agenda

1. Review updates needed for 2022 RPP, 2015 Alameda County CWPP
2. Review activities since the September 19 stakeholder meeting
3. Present steering committee approved criteria
4. Share sample proposals and template
5. Group discussion
6. Next steps?

DFSC has created an online form for proposal submissions. There is still time to submit your proposal ideas for the RPP and CWPP.

DFSC is seeking applicants for our Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP), funded by Cal Fire. SNAP provides $5,000 grants to low-income or disabled recipients, including seniors, who meet our criteria and need assistance with fuel-reduction projects.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Live in Alameda or Contra Costa County within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or a Federally listed Community at Risk.
• Agree to hire a contractor to reduce fuels within a 100-foot defensible space radius surrounding their home.
• Obtain support of their local fire department with a site visit, inspection notice, letter of support, or email.
• Demonstrate financial need, special need, or disability.

Have questions or need assistance to apply? Contact Joelle Fraser at joelle@diablofiresafe.org

2023 was a year of big accomplishments and changes for Diablo Firesafe Council. Below are some highlights from our most recently completed year.

New Executive Director

There were major personnel changes for DFSC in 2023. Cheryl Miller, our long-time executive director, retired and moved to Denver, Colorado. DFSC conducted an extensive E.D. search and selected Holly Million as our new executive director. A passionate 33-year veteran of the nonprofit world, Holly brings deep knowledge of nonprofit management, fundraising, communications, organizing, and partnership-building to this role, having worked as an executive director, director of development, fundraising consultant, and board member for scores of organizations throughout her career, including local, national, and international organizations.

Cost-Share Matching Program

In 2023, DFSC continued its very popular cost-share matching program – the Partners in Wildfire Prevention Program – the centerpiece of our community service. This program provides matching funds up to $5,000 to neighbors working together on their own fuel-reduction and vegetation management projects in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. In the 12-month period, this program achieved the following:

Home Hardening

DFSC also piloted its new Home Hardening Education Program in 2023. We delivered our free presentations to Firewise communities in Hunsaker Canyon, Berkeley, and Oakland. This program showcases actions to harden homes, including zone 0, deck maintenance, filling gaps, and screening vents and gutters, with material samples. The DFSC board of directors voted to make the HHEP a permanent DFSC project with Sheryl Drinkwater continuing presentations into 2025.

Grants and Funding

DFSC received a three-year grant totaling $374K to update the 2022 Regional Prioritization Plan (RPP) for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The Alameda County CWPP plan update will now be integrated into the RPP update process in 2024. The RPP identifies regional natural resource concerns that could be exacerbated by catastrophic wildfire and develop projects or other methods to remedy those issues ahead of the next fire. DFSC’s Cost-Share Matching Program was funded through a Cal Fire grant and funding from PG&E. We also relaunched our annual funding campaign with a year-end campaign outreach effort, a new online donation portal, and donations from individuals. Grants received, amount expended in 2023, amount remaining, and percentage are shown above.

DFSC received a $100K PG&E fuel-reduction grant in 2024 to help local homeowners in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. PG&E’s partnership with DFSC has funded 20 cost-share matching projects this year alone. 

The cost-share match serves as a powerful incentive to motivate local residents. The program encourages neighbors to take action to improve their wildfire safety while building community connections that will serve for many years to come. 

DFSC wishes to express our deep gratitude to PG&E for many years of support of our work.

PO Box 18616, Oakland, 94619 | holly@diablofiresafe.org