By Ed Royce
2/18/2010

At its regular meeting on January 21st KRVFSC elected the following members of the Board of Directors:  Kimberley Cushman, Gordon Ehmann, Gordon and Christine Hancock, Chris Horgan, Sharon Rooney, Ed Royce, and Lloyd Smith.  At a special meeting February 3rd, the Board elected Smith as President, Cushman as Secretary, and Rooney as Treasurer. 

The Board also decided to fully enter the digital age.  Henceforth the Board will normally have no face-to-face meetings, but will conduct its business entirely by e-mail.  Written monthly treasurer's reports, and reports from each of the committees will be filed electronically.  The secretary will prepare a monthly summary of these materials, together with a summary of any decisions reached by electronic voting during the month.  These summaries will constitute monthly minutes of Board actions and will be posted on this web site quarterly.  They will not be distributed, except to Board members. 

"Stakeholder's" meetings will be reduced to quarterly -- on the third Thursday of February, May, August, and November, 9:30 am to 11:30 am in Supervisor McQuiston's conference room in Lake Isabella.  The purpose of these meetings will be information exchange with agency representatives, property owner association representatives, and interested members of the public.  Agendas for these meetings will be widely distributed digitally to anyone interested in receiving them.   (Contact the president if you are interested.)

The work of the Council will be conducted by committees, not in general meetings.  Some of these meetings may be digital, rather than face-to-face.  Committee chairmen will be Ed Royce, grants and web site; Lloyd Smith, fund raising; Gordon Ehmann, chipper days; Kimberley Cushman, publicity; and Chris Horgan, education and speaker's bureau. 

By Brandon Muncy
Kern Valley Sun, 1/26/2010

Are you interested in having a Chipper Day in your neighborhood or community? Better yet, do you even know what a Chipper Day is?

Chances are you've seen the plumes of smoke, along with yellow-clad Kern County fire personnel working hard to remove fire hazards from various locations in the Kern Valley. But did you know who coordinates the chipper and burn days? Your local Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council and Kern County Fire Department.

According to the KRV Fire Safe Council website, "The Council's policy is to provide chipper days as a community service, regardless of the number of participants, to residence, business, and other groups, so long as the work is done for fuel reduction and the creation of defensible space, and the event is coordinated to make a reasonable day's work for the crew."

Are you interested in organizing a Chipper Day? Begin by contacting a member of the Fire Safe Council. You must first select a day and time for a Fire Safe Council Survivable Space Presentation. Next, schedule a fuels reduction project with community members a couple months prior to the scheduled Chipper Day. Select a weekend date, along with three alternatives, for the Chipper Day.

Once a date is confirmed for the Chipper Day, arrange for an on-site port-a-pottie for the crew. Select an area for crew members to rest along with a place for the crew to eat lunch. Lunch for the crews should be supplied by the property owners hosting the Chipper Day.

According to the KRV Fire Safe Council website, "The FSC suggests contacting your community/neighborhood, reminding them they only have a few days left to provide dead and down fuel to be chipped. Don't forget to take before, during, and after photos.

If your interested in having your property considered as a location for a burn or chipper day contact KRV Fire Safe Council President Lloyd Smith at 760-377-3542 or visit www.krvfiresafecouncil.org for more information.

By Marsha Smith, Publisher
Kern Valley Sun, 8/18/2009

I attend many meetings around our valley and in doing so many times I hear the same speakers. Often the speaker's program is the same but usually I still pick up something I missed the first time around. Over the years I have been present for many presentations by our local Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council. Although the basic principals are the same, I always come away with new information and amazement at the accomplishments of the Fire Safe Council members; each presentation is for me a new experience.

All organizations require people devoting their time to make their mission a reality and the Fire Safe Council is no exception. Recently I learned they are on a quest for new members so I thought I would help them spread the word.

K.R.V. Fire Safe Council originated in 2000 and is one of the first fire safe councils to be formed in California. They are a non-profit, 501c3, organization and all volunteer. The work they do to promote fire protection awareness is truly awesome and I take every chance I get to promote their efforts. I urge those of you who want to make a difference in our community to look their way to donate your time. They need your help and you will certainly feel rewarded for making our valley a safer place to live.

Their Mission Statement: "To provide awareness through education and information exchange, and to facilitate interagency coordination, fire protection and fire safety projects within the Kern River Valley." They partner with the Kern County Fire Department, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, the business community, property owners associations, civic groups and individuals to make their mission statement not just a promise but also a reality.

These are some of the projects currently being undertaken:

Hazardous fuel reduction grant projects: 2009 - $185,5000 and 2010 - $206,800. These projects clear fuel breaks around and in communities. The projects take place on private property where the activity would benefit the communities and are fully coordinated with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management projects on immediately adjacent lands. Previous projects include: Isabella Highlands/Sawmill/Hungry Gulch; Rodgers Road (Kernville); Meyers Canyon (Bodfish); Alta Sierra Community; Kennedy Meadows; Current and Future projects: Bodfish Canyon Phases 1, 2 (2009) and Phase 3 for 2010; Piute Meadows (Walker Basin) and Pala Ranches 2009 (Wofford Heights) and Burma (Kernville) for 2010.

Community Wildfire Protection Plans include: Kern River Valley; Alta Sierra; Meyers Canyon and Kennedy Meadows. These plans define a spectrum of activities to make communities safer. They include programs to help homeowners make their property more fire safe and define needed community hazardous fuel breaks. The Kern River Valley Plan was a pioneering document that became a model for similar plans throughout California. It is still their primary guiding document and is updated annually. Copies are in our local libraries.

KRV 16 Demonstration Lots: Illustrated what defensible space should look like.

Wildfire Awareness Week (usually the 2nd week of May) event: "Living With Wildfire" newspaper inserts for the past five years; Vons parking lot educational displays; Home Ignition Zone Workshop event with home assessments in the KRV; Wildfire poster contest for elementary school children with savings bonds given for prizes; Fire Safe Council presentation each year to the Kern County Board of Supervisors; sponsorship of the High Desert Fire Prevention programs for elementary schools.

Highway billboards: Four signs in the KRV and Havilah displaying wildfire/home fire prevention reminders. Signs are rotated quarterly to reflect seasonal concerns.

Chipper Days: The group purchased a chipper with BLM grant funds and is maintained and operated by the Kern County Fire Department. The Fire Safe council works with property owner associations, businesses and neighborhood groups to schedule chipper days. They conducted six chipper days events in 2008. Four chipper day events have been completed thus far for 2009, with at least three more to be scheduled. Camp Erwin Owen wards assist the KCFD crew by hauling cut brush to the chipper site. This is free to the residents other than a provided lunch for the crew and Camp Owen wards and a porta-potty.

Their website is kept up to date with educational information, minutes and contacts/links: www.krvfiresafecouncil.org.

Fundraising efforts supports all of the above activities, with the exception of grant-funded projects. Their proposed budget for 2009 is $6,427. Thus far donations total $2,194 for 2009.

KRV FSC Collaborative holds an annual meeting of the Fire Safe Council, Kern County Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to identify and fully coordinate future hazardous fuel reduction and mitigation projects; prioritize projects and incorporate results into the Kern River Valley Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) copies of which are located in our local Libraries.

Monthly meetings are held the third Thursday each month (except December) in Supervisor McQuiston's conference room, 7050 Lake Isabella Blvd., Lake Isabella, CA. Board meeting - 8:30 a.m., stakeholders meeting held at 9:30 AM.

By Robin Wyatt-Little
Kern Valley Sun, 8/19/2009

Lake Isabella-Bodfish Property Owners Association hosted the Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council at their Aug. 12 meeting. Presenters were Debbie Santiago of the Bureau of Land Management, Battalion Chief Dennis Monahan of Kern County Fire Department and Robin Wyatt Little, Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council (KRV FSC.)

Home Ignition Zones and the Ember Phenomenon were the subjects of the power point program. Debbie Santiago, Wildland Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist, took the audience step-by-step through the process of evaluating home and property for ignition zones where flying embers can settle, smolder and start spot fires. She stressed that often, following the initial wildfire, embers are lodged in nooks and crannies, able to smolder for hours, then igniting a fire. Many times this occurs after firefighting personnel have left the area.

Specifically, areas of concern are roof, foundation and eave vents with larger than 1/8 inch covering which embers can enter; gutters with a build-up of leaves and pine needles; fire wood stacked against a house or outbuilding; pet doors left unlocked when no one is home which can allow embers to be blown into the interior of the house; low decks without 1/8 inch screening to prevent leaf litter build up and ember intrusion; mobile homes without adequate skirting, allowing ember intrusion; brooms, cleaning supplies etc. stacked against a structure; tile roofs lacking end and ridge caps which prevent bird nests and ember intrusion; fire safe landscaping spaced properly and 5 feet from a structure wall; wood fences attached to a house or other buildings (separate with a masonry post); patio furniture pillows left outside when residents are not home and broken windows which allow flying ember intrusion.

Santiago stressed that if it's attached to the house it's part of the house. She asked the audience to walk their property and try to imagine where embers might land and what was available to feed a fire. Experience has shown it's the little things that can lead to the destruction of a home.

Santiago thanked the audience for all the defensible space treatment work they have done on their properties. She commented that this is much more evident in the KRV than eight years ago when the Fire Safe Council was in its infancy.

The Fire Safe Council invites individuals, property owner associations, civic groups and business owners to participate in their monthly meetings held the third Thursday of each month in Supervisor McQuiston's conference room, Lake Isabella. For information about chipper days and meetings please call Lloyd Smith at 760-377-3542 or check the website at krvfiresafecouncil.org.

By Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun, 5/5/2009

Last Sunday morning, the bay doors of Kern County Fire Department Station #72 were flung wide open. It wasn't to make way for fire trucks making a speedy exit, but rather to provide room for valley residents eager to participate in the first annual "Keep Your Home Safe from Wildfire" Workshop.

Lloyd Smith, President of the KRVFSC welcomed everyone and provided a brief overview of the non-profit organization that is manned completely by volunteers. He told the gathered crowd, "The council's vision is to ultimately create a wildland fire-safe community in the Kern River Valley."

They hope to accomplish this by raising awareness and exchanging information at events like the weekend's workshop. He shared that the overall theme was "Take Responsibility - Learn to Live with Wildfire." The event was also being held to draw attention to National Wildfire Awareness Week (May 3-9).

"The Forest Service is definitely using science to help win the battle against wildfires," said Scott Williams, Fire Management Officer with the local USFS District. He used a PowerPoint presentation to show how Web cams placed in remote areas provide valuable air quality information on smoke from existing fires.

He also showed how satellite images are used to monitor fires, to illustrate how rapidly they are spreading and the direction in which they are moving. Williams also demonstrated high tech computer programs that are used to analyze data that can monitor and predict wind patterns.

Kern County Fire Department Station 72 in Lake Isabella was the first stop on Sunday's "Keep Your Home Safe from Wildfire" workshop. Additional properties in the area were assessed for the creation of a defensible space around the property, reduction of hazardous fuels, and planting firewise landscaping.

Guest speaker, Pat Durland, a Wildfire Safety Consultant out of Boise, Idaho gave attendees an overview of wildfires and the challenges that they pose for both homeowners and firefighters. He stated, "Various factors such as budgetary constraints, ever-increasing population growth, and continuing drought conditions are making it harder and harder for firefighting agencies to do their job," Durland said. "As a result, homeowners must take on the responsibility of making their homes fire safe."

He shared valuable information on the 'little things' such as, creating a defensible space around your home and property, reducing hazardous fuels around your property, installing and maintaining firewise landscaping, that homeowners can do to make a huge difference in protecting their homes and surrounding property from a wildfire. Building or remodeling with fire safe building material is recommended, Durland added.

Interested citizens roamed around inside the station looking at informative displays, collecting free materials and asking questions of the representatives of agencies and organizations participating in the event. The May 3 workshop was put on free of charge by the Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council (KRVFSC) in conjunction with the Kern County Fire Department (KCFD), the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Event Coordinator, Gordon Ehmann then led the participants by car caravan through Lake Isabella to Bodfish to view the ongoing Bodfish Fuel Reduction Project alongside Bodfish Canyon Road. After enjoying lunch in a field overlooking Bodfish Canyon, it was time to go on a guided tour to view a local Defensible Space Demonstration Lot and the Meyers Canyon Fuelbreak. Durland and Deborah Santiago of BLM, then took participants through the process of conducting hazard assessments on several local homes whose owners had been kind enough to offer access to the group.

Ehmann stated that KRVFSC hopes to put on a similar event again next year. He added, "Everyone who attended today's workshop now has some hands-on knowledge that they can put to good use and easily share with others. You could say that they now have an educated eye when it comes to assessing potential wildfire hazards." If the enthusiastic response by the participants is any indication, they'll surely be back again next year with friends and family in tow.

Kern County Fire Department Station 72 in Lake Isabella was the first stop on Sunday's "Keep Your Home Safe from Wildfire" workshop. Additional properties in the area were assessed for the creation of a defensible space around the property, reduction of hazardous fuels, and planting firewise landscaping.