Newsletters

November 2025

Each year, every Firewise community is required to submit a renewal application. A special thanks to those who took the time to fill out our annual survey. We have just submitted our application with some very impressive impacts.

Our neighbors committed 6,031 hours to wildfire protection activities
You removed 1,141 cubic yards of vegetation and
You spent $186,773 on equipment, contractors, Firesafe home improvements and landscaping for fire protection

Keep up the great work! During the winter months, we will not be sending out Firewise newsletters, but our volunteer steering committee will continue to work to make our community safer.

PS: If you are interested in the conditions of the Valley’s roads, we encourage you to attend the District 5 State of the Roads Town Hall on Thursday, November 13 at 6pm at Highlands Park Senior & Community Center in Ben Lomond. This will be a great opportunity to ask questions about evacuation routes. Please see this article for more details: https://pressbanner.com/town-hall-to-discuss-district-5-roads-on-nov-13-in-ben-lomond/.

October 2025

We have a few announcements for you:

1) Communication plan in case of emergencies:

The Quail Hollow Firewise Steering Committee is happy to announce the new communication tool that we will be using to keep you updated and informed in the event of an emergency. We will be using One Call Now to send you SMS text messages, voice calls, and email messages for important notifications, such as an evacuation notice.

To receive SMS text alerts via your cell phone, you must opt in. Message and data rates may apply.

Opt In: text ALERT to 22300
Opt Out: text STOP to 22300
For Help: text HELP to 22300

This information, as well as a Privacy Policy, can be found on the Quail Hollow Firewise web site at https://quailhollowfirewise.wixsite.com/home/communications.

2) Reminder: Survey for our annual renewal application:

A few weeks ago Patricia Odello sent you a request to fill out our 2025 Community survey. Thank you to those who have done so already, but we would like to remind those who haven't to please do so soon but no later than 10/31. Robust neighborhood participation is a crucial component of a successful Firewise certificate renewal application for 2026.

Here is the link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQACxXFQOlv5wYY0pnM7M-lIMPLiDu3vuCDuvW_tRZ76fSBA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&usp=mail_form_link

3) We end the newsletter with a report on our activities of the year:

We are proud of what we accomplished this year, thanks to the tremendous support from so many of our neighbors. Here are some highlights:

Our Firewise designation was re-approved by CalFire. We join 110 other Santa Cruz Firewise communities, with our County approaching the second-largest number of Firewise areas in the nation.
We supported neighbors in the adjacent areas of Rancho Rio, Quail Hollow, Hidden Valley, and Vista Robles in developing their successful Firewise applications.
Jill Bernhard joined our Firewise steering committee and made tremendous contributions, including the design, launching, and support of our Firewise website. She also helped launch our communications plan, which will include a system to reach out to neighbors en masse in the event of emergencies, such as evacuations.
With the Rancho Rio Firewise folks, we organized an educational event at the Zayante Fire Dept, which focused on defensible space and home hardening. 63 community members attended this event.
We organized a neighborhood wildfire protection cleanup day, which was supported by 17 volunteers. We also helped senior neighbors improve their defensible space.
We successfully promoted the highly visible address signs offered by the Zayante Fire Dept., as well as the County’s free green waste disposal program in August. A special thanks to Supervisor Monica Martinez for pushing this initiative, which was only offered in the San Lorenzo Valley. In the upcoming year, we look forward to working with Monica to sustain and expand this vital program.
We surveyed (including now) our neighbors to learn about efforts they have undertaken on their homes to mitigate wildfires. We also gathered info on folks whose insurance was canceled and shared details on those with alternative water sources that could be used in the event of the next CZU fire. We posted maps of these sources at the perimeters of our Firewise neighborhood to help out-of-town firefighters navigate it in an emergency.

We could not have accomplished these goals without the strong support of our neighbors. As you might imagine, these activities required support from our little volunteer Firewise steering committee. If you think you could contribute to our efforts in 2026, please let us know.

August 2025

If you went to our educational event about home hardening last month we hope you will agree with us that it was a great success. We had great presentations, lots of useful information, great questions by the audience and a well-informed and engaging panel of speakers. (see some pictures here). Plus a great show of some of their fire department's new toys by our awesome fire chiefs Stacie Brownlee and Jeff Maxwell.

In case you missed the event or want to review some of the information, we have the following to share:

a) The gripping video snippets about the LA fires were from the PBS Video: “The REAL Story of the LA Fires”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiX9t_wovEY).

In the interest of time, we were able to show just a small portion of this powerful video, and we recommend you take the time to watch the whole video.

b) Here is the link to the power point presentation that includes all the slides of the home hardening efforts undertaken by your neighbors who were presenting at the event:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16qEBeEoz8HsM4ym4O9_AeM5JoVH70bVi/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=114513632404041833061&rtpof=true&sd=true

and here is a link to the audio of the presentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vHeQjSuOgWb5m3ux39ffi0e9Kdx-mGJK/view?usp=sharing

Now you might be wondering what you should be doing at your own home. One next step might be to consider signing up for a Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) assessment.

It's a free educational service that residents can request, to have a trained volunteer provide suggestions about home hardening and defensible space. The process takes about an hour, and is scheduled at a mutually convenient time between resident and assessor.

To get your own FREE HIZ assessment scheduled, please fill out a request here: https://www.firesafesantacruz.org/HIZ

Some more information and recommendations about the HIZ:

A) See here for more information about what the HIZ is and how to help prepare your home and property against a wild fire: https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/preparing-homes-for-wildfire

B) From all the information we have it is clear that one item absolutely worth doing is to reduce flammable materials in the HIZ: One of the concrete things you should consider doing is replacing more flammable materials in the HIZ such as wood chips or gorilla hair with less flammable materials such as gravel or pavers.

Last, but not least, we want to remind you of the great opportunity to drop off woodwaste and yard clippings for FREE on Saturdays during the month of August. This great program was announced by our 5th district supervisor Monica Martinez at our event, and is still ongoing for three more Saturdays this month. The more use this program sees, the more likely it seems that this could become a permanent feature. Wouldn't that make a lot of sense and a good use of our tax dollars that we can all agree on?

Attached is a flyer on the program, which includes the ability for local folks to hire others to take loads to the dump.

July 2025

Our annual educational event in mid-July was a huge success. Co-sponsored by the Rancho Rio Firewise group and the Zayante Fire Department, the 63 attendees learned about defensible space and home hardening projects that can be done on homes to mitigate the largest wildfire threat, which is windblown embers. Attendees reviewed segments of a PBS special on the LA fires and were able to tour the new SLV fire safety trailer and Zayante Fire Wildland Brush Engine (Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ82OzOAI9I).

In the future, we will share some highlights from this event. In the meantime, attached please find some useful hints for defensible space and home hardening.

Free Yard Waste Disposal in August

Thanks to the efforts of Supervisor Monica Martinez, SLV residents will be able to make free yard waste disposals to the Ben Lomond Dump on Saturdays this August. This is a great opportunity for you to clean up your property with no dump fees. Start lining up your brush piles now, so you are ready when the program kicks off on August 2nd. Attached is a flyer on the program, which includes the ability for local folks to hire others to take loads to the dump.

June 2025

This newsletter will be short and consist of announcements about upcoming events.

1) Breakfast events at Valley Fire Stations

a) Zayante Fire Flapjack Fest, Father's Day, June 15th, 2025, 7am-noon: at Zayante Fire Station.

b) Ben Lomond Fire Annual Pancake Breakfast, Sunday, June 29th, 2025, 7:00 am – 11:00 am: at Ben Lomond Fire Station.

c) Boulder Creek Fire 4th of July Pancake Breakfast, Friday, July 4th, 2025, 7am-12pm: at Boulder Creek Fire Station.

2) PG&E Wildfire Safety Webinar for Santa Cruz Mountains

Wednesday, June 25 5:30 - 6:30 p.m

Join online: https://click.em.pge.com/?qs=4237bbe26dbf853f2d835e52bd5595e75a4d3359e8b7ad1271d82c37428f50e1c0ef67f71eb916833e9396f31cfedf4fe702e208fe261d40860d734cf2f3d89b

You can also join via phone by calling 877-939-1569
Conference ID: 8725878

May 2025

We have a few items to bring to your attention that might be interesting and/or useful for you:

1) Our very own Quail Hollow Firewise Community Website:
Kudos to our steering committee member Jill Bernhard who put together a professional website for our organization. It can be found here:

https://quailhollowfirewise.wixsite.com/home

There is a wealth of information on the site already and it will only grow over time. Please take a look and let us know what you think.

2) Quail Hollow Firewise Community February 2025 Survey results.

Thank you to those community members that participated in the survey which focused on two topics: alternative water sources and fire insurance. As explained before, we have since shared the information about water sources with the fire chiefs (who thanked us for doing so). A special thanks to the 8 neighbors who shared this information. Combined, these properties have 154,400 gallons of alternative water sources, which will be very useful for firefighters in a wildfire if fire hydrant water pressure drops.

In the near future you will see new signs near the Firewise signs at the ends of Marion Avenue which contains a map of available water resources which could be very helpful in an emergency, especially for out-of-town firefighters. We want to thank the neighbors who have agreed to have their water source included on the map.

On the topic of fire insurance, for those of you that are interested, click here for the aggregated survey responses.

3) Much is happening in May: Event Announcements

Sunday, May 11th, 8am-noon: Mother's Day Felton Fire Station Pancake Breakfast
Thursday, May 15th, 6:15pm-8:30pm: Townhall hosted by Assembly member Gail Pellerin on home hardening.
From their flyer: "This important event will feature guidance from dedicated professionals working to protect our communities daily, including experts from the Fire Safe Council, San Jose Fire Department, Open Space Authority, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Komodo Fire Systems and CAL FIRE, along with local partners committed to prevention, resilience, and readiness." To sign up follow this link.
Saturday, May 17th, 11am-4pm: 2nd Annual Santa Cruz Mountains Firewise Festival at Roaring Camp
Please see details and sign up here: Santa Cruz Mountains Firewise Festival at Roaring Camp
Saturday May 24th, 9am-11am: Felton Remembers Parade with SLV Firewise. Forwarding as requested: SLV Firewise will be marching in this year’s Felton Remembers Parade and Covered Bridge Festival General information about the event can be found here. If you are interested in marching along with SLV Firewise, please complete this RSVP survey by Monday, May 12th.

4) Mark your calendar: Neighborhood clean-up day is tentatively planned for Saturday, June 28th

Please be on the lookout for further information about this event and how you can participate from steering committee member Patricia Odello in the near future.

April 2025

Happy Easter weekend! We have a few items to bring to your attention that might be interesting and/or useful for you:

1) A short note from Jeff Wells in regards to the New State Fire Marshal Fire Hazard Maps:

The State Fire Marshal has released new Fire Hazard maps. The significance of these is that they potentially impact insurance rates, as well as mandating certain standards on the highest-risk areas. You can check your property on the new Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map: https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=988d431a42b242b29d89597ab693d008

It is worth noting that our neighborhood falls within the “high” (tan) category rather than the “very high” (red) category. The State of CA is currently developing requirements for properties located in the “very high” category, which will include limiting most plantings within 5 feet of the home’s perimeter (called Zone Zero). While our neighborhood was fortunate not to receive the “very high” designation, this does not mean that this could not happen in the future. If one zooms back on this map, it is evident that a high portion of the State has now been designated as “very high” hazard.

Here is what the State says about the map:

The Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps are developed using a science-based and field-tested model that assigns a hazard score based on the factors that influence fire likelihood and fire behavior. Many factors are considered such as fire history, existing and potential fuel (natural vegetation), predicted flame length, blowing embers, terrain, and typical fire weather for the area. There are three levels of hazard in the State Responsibility Areas: moderate, high, and very high. Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps evaluate “hazard,” not “risk”. They are like flood zone maps, where lands are described in terms of the probability level of a particular area being inundated by floodwaters, and not specifically prescriptive of impacts. “Hazard” is based on the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30 to 50-year period without considering mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfire, or fuel reduction efforts. “Risk” is the potential damage a fire can do to the area under existing conditions, accounting for any modifications such as fuel reduction projects, defensible space, and ignition resistant building construction.

They have a website with a ton of info about it too:

https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/community-wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/fire-hazard-severity-zones

2) Waste Management free pickups of yard trimmings.

According to a statement by Waste Management (emphasis in bold by us):

“Residents may request up to four on call “Extra Set Out” collections annually for garbage or yard trimmings, for no additional charge. Please contact Customer Service at 831-426-2711 at least 24 hours in advance”

3) A Firewise Helpful Hint on "Defensible Space"

Fire-resistant architecture and defensible open space around homes are credited with saving some homes from the devastation of the Palisades and Eaton/Altadena fires. Wind-assisted wildfires can rain down millions of embers, resulting in a higher likelihood of home ignition in general, said California Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant. Still, research from past fires has shown that fire-hardened homes with good defensible space have a double-digit increase in their chances of surviving, he said. “Home-hardening efforts are absolutely critical.” The idea is to keep flames and heat away from a home and reduce the likelihood of embers finding a weak spot to enter and burn it from the inside. Measures can include anything from choosing fire-resistant building materials to adding mesh screening to vents and chimneys and closing gaps around exposed rafters. Clearing vegetation and debris from around a home is also key, Berlant said. These efforts don’t have to be expensive, he said, pointing to a list of low-cost retrofits from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is attached.

4) Spring Cleaning Reboot
As the lush green grass around us is slowly turning brown, it is once again time to be working on cutting the grass and putting the 5ft hardening, defensible space around your home on your radar screen. Any rain from this point is not going to make a difference, so it's time to take the grass down and remove the clippings.

January 2025

The horrific and ongoing outcomes of the LA fires serve as a reminder that wildfire awareness and prevention have
become something we need to address year-round.

The Ben Lomond and Zayante Fire Chiefs have regularly encouraged residents to upgrade their home addresses. In the
case of a wildfire, visibility is very limited, so fire personnel may miss homes that do not have adequate signage. Also,
consider the importance of an ambulance's need to find your home in the event of an emergency.

The Zayante Fire Dept has a great sign-making program that you can take advantage of. They produce large, very visible
reflective address number signs at a very reasonable price. They have just announced that they received a grant from
the Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery, and Resilience, which will reduce prices for Firewise neighbors. The
prices were previously $25 and $30, which have now been reduced to $10 and $15, one- or two-sided.

There is limited funding for this program, so we urge you to apply soon for these signs. You can order an addressnumber sign from Zayante Fire online (https://zayantefire.com/reflective-sign-program/) or visit the Zayante Fire Station in person.We urge you to apply soon because these grant funds are limited!