Fire Safe Occidental is proud of the work we’ve done to create a safer, more interconnected community. Read on to discover projects in progress as well as past initiatives.
Communication Network
We distributed 100 GMRS radios throughout the community to create a communication vehicle when our power grid is off. We are looking for neighborhood residents willing to be a part of a communication network! Contact us to get involved.
Occidental Community Wildfire Protection Plan
In 2019, Fire Safe Occidental received a grant from Fire Safe California to be one of two Fire Safe Councils in a pilot program to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), with the intention for the plan to serve as a template for other communities to follow. Completed in 2020 with the support of Fire Safe Sonoma, the CWPP provides an overview of the area, its resources and assets, the population and character of any development, and identifies the key risks. In addition to providing a snapshot of the Occidental area, our CWPP also identifies significant priority projects we hope to accomplish in the next few years. The CWPP is a living document that is updated annually, serving as a key resource for most of our grant applications and for many county, state, or federal programs that could improve the safety of Occidental!
You can view Occidental’s CWPP on the Fire Safe Sonoma website here.
Green Address Sign
In 2018 Fire Safe Occidental received funding to provide all residents with green reflective address signs to place at the intersection of their driveway and the street to make it easier for first responders to find their location in an emergency.
Local Emergency Call System
A few years ago every neighborhood uploaded its contacts into a one call now system, allowing us to share local emergencies with either our individual neighborhoods or across the Occidental area to improve secondary means of communication in an emergency.
Secondary Egresses
Early on we realized how important it was to find a second way out for each neighborhood, many of which didn’t have any when we started. We worked with neighbors at the end of dead end roads. Every neighborhood in Occidental now has a second way out.