From Seth Schalet, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council CEO

In the words of the great American lecturer, poet, and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.”

The December Newsletter is SCCFSC’s final for 2023. While it’s good to reflect on the year that was, and that wasn’t with respect to significant wildfires in Santa Clara County, preparing for 2024 work and projects is a core focus, as is finishing 2023 on a high note.

The Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaboration (LGCWSC) is hard at work in the planning for our latest Forest Health Grant project that includes new partners Lupin Lodge and Aldercroft Heights Firewise. I could not be more pleased with the effort and progress that the collaborative has made in getting this project off to a strong start.

Special thanks to Denise Enea and the Fire Safe San Mateo team for the invitation to share their monthly meeting presentation stage with N5 Sensors on how Santa Clara County can purchase N5’s wildfire sensor products through SCCFSC. They had a large audience and great questions around project specification, evaluation, some of SCCFSC’s local installations. You can find a copy of the presentation here.

I had an enjoyable few days with Dryad Networks CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte, visiting clients to present Dryad’s SILVANET wildfire sensor technology and strategizing together about how we can keep forests healthy while identifying wildfires at the earliest possible point to keep them from becoming destructive disasters. See more on SILVANET here.

On behalf of the FireSafe board and staff, I want to thank our partners at Los Altos Hills County Fire District (LHCFD), the District Commissioners, LAHFCD staff including: Community Education and Risk Reduction Manager Denise Gluhan, Emergency Services Manager Victoria Bebee, Programs, Planning and Grants Manager Eugenia Woods, District Clerk Cori Vargas, and a special tip of the hat to General Manager J. Logan for working with SCCFSC and renewing our contract for 2024 services.

In closing, as I turn it over to our team, I want to thank our clients, partners, board members—and the SCCFSC team—for making 2023 one of the strongest years in SCCFSC history. Circling back to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote: “December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.” The future is bright. As we enter our 2024 budget cycle, peering through the lens, 2024 could be the best revenue year in the history of the organization-thanks to our talented team. As we reach toward the future, we thought we would start by introducing you to our new, updated SCCFSC logo. Tara Wallichs, our COE Coordinator, worked her craft, adding both subtle and bold changes, creating our logo for 2024 and beyond. So grateful to have Tara on the team.

The 2024 future is bright for SCCFSC. See you there.

Seth Schalet

CEO, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council

Winter Holiday Fire Safety Tips

Winter holidays are a time for families and friends to get together. But that also means a greater risk for fire. As you deck the halls this holiday season, be fire smart. A small fire that spreads to a Christmas tree can grow large very quickly.

Following a few simple tips will ensure a happy and fire-safe holiday season.

Ponderosa Pine

(Pinus ponderosa)

Crown fires kill ponderosa pines of all ages. Low-severity fire usually kills seedlings but not saplings. Mature ponderosa pines survive low- and usually moderate-severity fire. Learn More

Mike Mathiesen

I'm a recent retiree from the Fire Service where I spent 26 years in the Santa Clara Unit of CAL FIRE and 3 years with Santa Clara County Fire. In both capacities I worked very closely with the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and really got my enthusiasm for fuels reduction when I helped plan and implement the HWY 17 Fuels Reduction Project with the FireSafe Council in 2019 while I was working for CAL FIRE. Now I'm a project manager in the Forest Health Program where I am helping to plan and implement a 2 phased Forest Health project covering about 1,300 acres of watershed in Los Gatos Creek. The same watershed I protected as a Fire Service professional, with an amazing group of dedicated and competent individuals. I like to surf and fly fish in my off time and practice yoga about 3 times a week. I live in Aptos with my wife of 21 years Corrie, and I have two daughters in college Hannah (18) and Miranda (20). I'm excited to be apart of this group and love getting up to go to work!

The Forest Health Project is working its way through Sanborn County Park with nearly 50 acres of vegetation treatments completed in November. The weather has been favorable this fall, keeping the project on schedule. There have been temporary trail closures and we appreciate cooperation from the public on these popular areas as we complete work in County Parks. Additionally, we are resuming work in the San Jose Water Company lands in the vicinity of Elsman Reservoir that should last to the end of the year. We will likely continue to do work on the SJW lands dependent on weather conditions this winter. Learn More

Before and after photos by Dave Manson.

We started the East Dunne Escape Route Project on November 27th and are making steady progress. Phase one is complete and we are almost halfway through phase two. We have a new contractor, and they are doing great work. Thank you to CAL FIRE for providing crews to assist on the project. The CAL FIRE CNA (California National Guard) hand crews have been on the project assisting with the vegetation management. This has really increased production and depth of the project and the overall effectiveness of the escape route will be greatly improved.

We hope to finish by December 15th. Learn More

The Robleda-Burke Evacuation Route in Los Altos Hills was a success and completed in 4 days with no incidents. We removed understory brush and added adequate spacing to maintain the resilience and beauty of the landscape. Learn More

Before and after photos below.

• Crime Prevention & Home Fire Safety
• Thursday, January 18, 2024 · 11am - 12:30pm PST
• In-Person - Los Altos Hills Town Hall - Free
• Be Prepared for Disasters
• Thursday, March 7, 2024 · 6 - 7:15pm PST 
• In-Person - Campbell Community Center - Free

Learn More

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