Webinar series offered to develop fire adapted communities at Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week runs through June 3. A Webinar Series on developing fire adapted communities at Lake Tahoe has been launched. Communities located in fire-prone area are fire adapted when they require little assistance from firefighters during a wildfire. Residents accept responsibility for living in a high fire-hazard area. They possess the knowledge and skills to prepare their homes and property to survive wildfire and they know how to evacuate early, safely and effectively.

Objectives of the Webinar Series
University of California and Nevada Cooperative Extensions in collaboration with Tahoe Basin fire agencies will conduct a series of webinars on topics necessary for individuals and communities at Lake Tahoe to become fire adapted. The webinar series will be held in conjunction with the Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week, May 26th to June 3rd, 2012. Go here for the series. Go here for more information and a schedule of events.

The goal of the webinar series is to empower residents to take responsibility for reducing the wildfire risk to their own homes and communities. Objectives are to:

— Provide a broad overview of the wildfire risk reduction strategies used in the Tahoe basin
— Describe the fundamental principles of defensible space and conservation landscaping at Lake Tahoe
— Describe methods that can be used to reduce the ignitability of homes in fire hazard areas, specifically in the Lake Tahoe Basin
— Help Tahoe Basin residents learn how to work with their fire departments, neighborhoods and communities to reduce risk
— Learn how to be prepared for emergencies and how to evacuate when a wildfire approaches
Describe the fire risk reduction activities being conducted in wildlands by the US Forest Service

Who Should Attend
The webinar should be of interest to homeowners and residents of the Tahoe basin, visitors, land managers, local decision makers and planners, regulators, and members of the fire-fighting community.

Webinar Logistics
University of California Cooperative Extension will host the webinars. Participants in the webinars will access the presentations through a meeting URL. The webinar will provide the means for participants to engage presenters by asking questions and making comments.

Webinar Schedule
Six webinars will be offered in conjunction with Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week, on consecutive days. All sessions will be held from noon to one and will be recorded and archived for later viewing. The first session was on Friday, May 25th, 2012 - Defensible space in the Tahoe Basin.

Session Two: Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 - What to do during a wildfire/ evacuation/ emergency preparedness
Evacuation during a wildfire/ PRIDE – Mark Regan, North Lake Tahoe FPD
Information needs and methods during a wildfire – Dave Zaski, North Tahoe FPD

Session Three: Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 - Conservation landscaping in Tahoe
Defensible space landscaping – Susie Kocher, Univ. of California Coop. Extension
Backyard Native plants – Lesley Higgins, Nevada Tahoe Conservation District
Learning how to garden at Lake Tahoe - Wendy West, Tahoe Basin Master Gardener program

Session Four: Thursday, May 31st, 2012 - Improving home survivability during wildfire
Home vulnerability - Steve Quarles, Insurance Inst. for Business & Home Safety
Implementing WUI building codes in the Tahoe Basin – Gareth Harris, Lake Valley Tahoe Fire Protection District

Session Five: Friday June 1st, 2012 - Fire risk reduction and the US Forest Service
Fire prevention in Lake Tahoe – Beth Brady, USFS Fire Prevention Specialist
South Shore fuels treatments project, stewardship permit system – Kyle Jacobsen, USFS Forest Fuels Specialist

Session Six: Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 - Working with your fire departments/ neighborhood /community
Working with your fire department (services, permits, calls from insurance companies, etc) – Eric Guevin, Tahoe Douglas FPD, Martin Goldberg, Lake Valley FPD
Motivating neighbors to organize for defensible space – Ann Grant, Nevada Fire Save Council volunteer

For More Information
Contact Susie Kocher, University of California Cooperative Extension, HYPERLINK "mailto:sdkocher@ucdavis.edu" sdkocher@ucdavis.edu, 530-542-2571 or check the webinar homepage at HYPERLINK "http://ucanr.org/tahoefirewebinar" http://ucanr.org/tahoefirewebinar. Registration is free but required at HYPERLINK "http://ucanr.org/tahoefireregistration" http://ucanr.org/tahoefireregistration.