September 2025

From Seth Schalet, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council CEO

Harold Schapelhouman

Director; Retired Menlo Park Fire District Chief

Prior to retirement, I spent 40 years with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District starting as a firefighter and finishing as the Fire Chief. The Fire District serves 100,000 residents and businesses located in the communities of Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and unincorporated San Mateo County. The Fire District is located along the San Francisco Bay and in what is known as Silicon Valley.

As the Fire Chief, I reported to five elected Board Members who governed the District and together we were responsible for managing a 30 square mile area served by seven fire stations, twelve first response units staffed daily by 33 front line personnel with a full staff of 155 employees that included safety, code enforcement, support, public education and administrative personnel. Learn More

The FSC completed a Neighbor-to-Neighbor project on Maymens Flat Road, up by Madonna/Summit. The project did roadside clearing for about 5 or 6 properties. The area was in pretty bad shape. We used a local contractor, Brion Burell, and it turned out really good. 

Interested in working with your neighbors on a community project? Apply for our N2N Cost Share Program and the FireSafe Council can help support your efforts! Funding is limited. Apply by October 31st. Projects must be completed by December 31, 2025. 

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council offers two different cost sharing programs to qualified residents, the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Cost Share Program and the Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP).

Our Neighbor-to-Neighbor Cost Share Program is awarding mini-grants to neighborhoods for local fire prevention projects. Neighborhoods can receive up to 50% in cost-share assistance (max $5,000). Funding is limited and awarded on a first come, first served basis.

Our Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) is also offering up to $5,000 per applicant to help eligible residents improve defensible space around their homes. For 2025, eligibility is based on location within Communities at Risk or high fire severity zones in Santa Clara County.

Fall Chipping Program

Fall 2025 Chipping Program Registration for our Saratoga and County Fire District residents will open on September 22nd, 2025. Availability will be limited, so registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

A waitlist will be available if the program reaches capacity. Learn More

Forward Progress

Work is continuing off Montevina Road for the West Branch of the Forest Health-2 grant. Hard fought ground on El Sereno trail with a 100+ year history of "no fire" has slowed productivity, but the end result is turning out nicely. Read More

The Mora - Summerhill Evacuation Route Project is currently in the project planning phase. The project is set to start on Monday, September 29th through October 10 and will be the fourth of the series for the calendar year. Learn More

Between August 11th and August 13th, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, in partnership with Brush Hog Tree Care, completed mowing along 2.5 miles of roadside (both sides) in the City of Palo Alto. We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation as work was carried out along the route.

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is partnering with the City of Palo Alto on an evacuation route clearance project on Page Mill Road to maintain clear evacuation routes this fall.

Stay tuned for more updates on this project initiative.

European Hackberry

(Celtis australis)

One of the best things about the European hackberry is how low-maintenance it is. Once it’s established, it doesn’t need much water, and it can handle heat, drought, poor soil, and even urban pollution. That makes it a great fit for tough spots where other trees might struggle. While it’s not native to California, it adapts really well to similar climates and still supports wildlife like pollinators and seed-eating birds.

When it comes to fire-wise landscaping, since it’s deciduous, it drops its leaves in fall and doesn’t carry the same fire risk as oily evergreens. Its open canopy also helps keep flames from climbing into the crown if it’s pruned and maintained properly. Learn More

Thank you to Congressman Sam Liccardo, D16, for his leadership in protecting our community from wildfire. His Wildfire Resilience Partnership is an initiative to bring all community leaders focused on wildfire risk reduction and preparedness: fire service agencies, nonprofits, university researchers and policy experts and county executives, together around the table. The Wildfire Resilience Partnership is just getting underway, and our work is still preliminary…gathering info from stakeholders, researching state and federal sources of funding, and exploring more innovative approaches from those around the table that Congressman Liccardo can distill into a few core initiatives he can champion in Washington D.C., so when the federal funding spigot does open up, we are ready with projects that can be implemented enabling a regional approach to resiliency.

The press conference kick-off-event was held at Los Gatos Novitiate Park on August 20^th, followed by an August 29^th convening at Neutra House in Los Altos on 8/29 of all the key agencies and organizations in the Santa Clara County wildfire ecosystem. Thank you to Congressman Liccardo and his stellar team of Raania Mohsen, Francesca Segrè and Justin Jeong for leading the charge. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with you and our county partners over the coming months.

Here is some of the resulting media coverage of these events:

1. Local agencies work to spark West Valley residents’ interest in wildfire mitigation
2. KRON 4 Video: New wildfire initiative unveiled in the South Bay
3. West Valley stakeholders discuss priorities for Wildfire Resilience Partnership

Bringing the band together for global API development.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is leading the collaboration with our partners at OroraTech & N5 Sensors, Inc. to develop data sharing capabilities for our clients. Being able to give our OroraTech and N5 Sensors customers here in Silicon Valley and beyond the ability to share data in a unified dashboard between N5's ground-based wildfire smoke sensors and OroraTech's satellite wildfire monitoring systems is actively being developed. We are proud of our partnership and reseller relationship with both organizations. 

Thank you, Steve Maisonet, Debra Deininger, Martin Herkommer Daniel Slovich Kim Feuerbacher, Robins George, Heather Dawson Abhishek Motayed for your engagement, commitment and partnership. We have you covered from Lake Tahoe, Bethesda, MD, Saratoga, CA, Denver, CO, Munich, Germany!

Harold Schapelhouman Elected to Santa Clara County FireSafe Council Board of Directors

Retired Menlo Park Fire District Chief brings 40 years of experience leading fire agencies and Urban Search and Rescue teams during the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 World Trade Center Disaster and Hurricane Katrina. 

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and City of Palo Alto Sign $2.5 Million Dollar Multi-Year Contract for Wildfire Mitigation, Community Engagement and Technology Solutions Services

San Jose Water Expands Community Wildfire Resiliency with New $185,000 Grant to Santa Clara County FireSafe Council

Neighbors can apply here for a free permit allowing you to reduce vegetation on Midpen land, within 100 feet of occupied structures, to create defensible space around your home. Learn More