Bonny Doon sets up fire safety group

In the wake of two years of summer fires that devastated parts of Bonny Doon, a group of locals hopes to help the mountain community prepare for the next blaze.
“Fire is fresh in people’s minds,” said Nadia Hamey, a Bonny Doon resident and forester for Big Creek Lumber Co. “There are a lot of people who want to be involved, and they don’t know how.”
Joe Christy, another Bonny Dooner, has organized the first meeting of a community Fire Safe Council next week. Residents can share their ideas, and a board of directors will be created by a vote, he said.
“It will serve as a means for educating the community, with a focus on fire safety rather than fighting fires,” Christy said.
A Fire Safe Council is a grassroots group that promotes fire safety by educating the community and getting folks to take precautionary steps to protect themselves from fires.
There are nearly 200 such councils in California. The local group will promote education, pool resources and apply for grants to pay for community fire safety efforts.
Christy hopes to coordinate volunteers to clear defensible space and build access roads in Bonny Doon.
Hamey thinks the council can work with major landowners in the area, including Cemex and various lumber companies, to quell fire danger.
“I see a Fire Safe Council as a really good way to tap into federal funding to expand shaded fuel breaks around Bonny Doon,” Hamey said.
The council will also be an educational forum to help homeowners and other residents learn about how they can protect their property and make use of resources like the chipper program offered by the Santa Cruz Resource Conservation District.
The fledgling council will be supported by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Bonny Doon fire team, Christy said.
“The most important thing is to get people to take care of themselves,” he said.
At a glance
• WHAT: First meeting to form a Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council
• WHEN: 7 p.m. Jan. 20
• WHERE: Bonny Doon Elementary School multipurpose room, 1492 Pine Flat Road
• INFO: Joe Christy, 423-7151 or

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