Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1534435
| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | MAY 2025 | 5 Community Awareness Program By Michele Walter If you didn't have the opportunity to be present for the "FIREWISE" presentation in April, please watch it on Channel 97. You can also go to our website and find out more on this program under the "Community Awareness" tab. Just to give a brief overview, Captain Joe Kennedy from Cal Fire- Land Use Planning Program gave a very in depth talk on reducing wildfire risks in our Sun Lakes Community. The "Firewise" USA program provides a collaborative framework for neighbors to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. The National Recognition Program's annual criteria is designed to empower and engage residents living in wildfire prone areas with a plan and actions that can increase their home's chances of surviving a wildfire, while also making it safer for firefighters. What you need to know: Decades of research have shown that both the house and landscape adjacent to it play a critical role in the structure surviving a wildfire. A wildfire can transfer from ignited vegetation or an ignited home(s) through: Radiation Convection Embers/Firebrands. A home's building materials, design, and landscape have a significant role in the level of exposure that can be endured before ignition occurs from any of these sources. Community Awareness is starting our own "Firewise" Program. We are forming a board/committee comprised of residents. The group will collaborate on developing our community's risk reduction priorities (Action Plan) and will develop a three-year plan based on the assessment, along with overseeing the completion of the annual renewal requirements. The Action Plan is a list of risk reduction projects developed by the Board/committee for our community. Plans include recommended home ignition zone projects, educational activities and other outreach efforts. We have already separated Sun Lakes into four designated zones. Our community representatives as of now are: Michele Walter, Gary Lyle, Jim Nichol, Brian O'Grady and Ann Marie Hanko. BY WORKING WITH NEIGHBORS, individual residents can make their own property and their neighborhood much safer from the f lames and embers of a wildfire. Anyone interested in being part of our board/committee or if you would just like to help in any way of this much needed program, please contact Michele Walter 951 202-8009. The more we educate and get everyone involved the safer our Sun Lakes Community will be. Please don't hesitate in getting involved! Questions or concerns? Call Michele Walter at (951) 202-8009 or email crystalwater@dc.rr.com. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.