Creation of El Cam Firewise Community | 06/09/22

Dear El Caminito Firewise Neighbors,

Updates on the creation of an El Caminito Firewise Community:

• Please send all Firewise correspondence to the new email: elcamfirewise@gmail.com.

• Thank you so very much to Vince Hunt for developing a website that is now public: www.elcamfirewise.com. I recommend reading the useful information in the About Section about the process of becoming a firewise community.

• Welcome three board members:

o Diana Markham, President

o Sharon Miller, Treasurer

o Vince Hunt, Web/content Manager

• Next El Caminito Firewise meeting on Tuesday, June 14, at Diana's & Jesse's

• We need someone to host the following meeting and someone to be the point of contact for the Wildfire Risk inspection. Please contact Diana Markham at elcamfirewise@gmail.com if you want to volunteer.

• The application to become a Firewise Community is in progress. The next step in the Wildfire Risk Assessment which includes 8-10 home inspections by Fire Chief Kevin Kamnikar.

Announcements:

• There is a new app developed in conjunction with Big Sur Kate called WatchDuty which simplifies fire tracking between different agencies. I am trying it out. You get almost immediate notifications of nearby fires in whatever counties you choose.

• Robles Firewise president Stacy Wood is interested in having us volunteer at the next Wildfire Safety and Prepare Fair in 2023. This might be a great way to help the community and raise money.

To Do:

• Talk to your neighbors and identify neighborhood units that will work together during evacuations and home hardening and maintenance of defensible space. I believe that Via Milpitas, upper El Caminito, and middle El Caminito have begun talking to each other.

• Send one to three neighborhood representatives to the next meeting at Diana and Jesse’s deck.

• Share the Contact Information link with interested neighbors. We have 35 neighbors on the list so far!

• Meet with neighbors and Kevin Kamnikar at the June 14 meeting to finalize the boundary of the El Caminito Firewise group and set up a Wildfire Risk Assessment.

• Volunteer your home for the Wildfire Risk Assessment. We are looking for 8-10 homes to be inspected by Kevin Kamnikar on an upcoming Saturday to be determined at the meeting. Volunteer your home on the Home Wildfire Risk Assessment form.

• Attend all or part of the Wildfire Safety and Prepare Fair on Saturday June 18, 10am -4 pm at the Carmel Valley Community Park. This event is sponsored by Robles Firewise. Kevin Kamnikar will be available for individual questions at the fair. They have an online auction that needs support.

Questions answered:

• A Firewise community is not automatically a non-profit. Roblesfirewise is a non-profit as well as a Firewise community. Non-profit status may be useful in applying for grants, and fundraising. We may consider this step in the future.

• Neighbors can still help neighbors, but our El Caminito Firewise Community will not be sponsoring cleanup activities until we are insured. In explanation, if we have someone at our home and they fall, we are covered with liability insurance, but if neighbor A falls at Neighbor B’s house during a Firewise event, then the directors and organizers could be liable as well. This is solved by obtaining Directors and Organizers insurance; something we might consider in the future.

• Grants are competitive and available from various sources including PGandE and the County of Monterey. We will need people to step up and investigate. Let me know if you would like to volunteer to look into grants at elcamfirewise@gmail.com.
  

Thank you for your support,

Diana Markham

You are receiving this email because you put your name on the contact list. To be removed from the list please send an email to elcamfirewise@gmail.com.·