The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) has teamed up with the University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) to teach fire-science and wildfire-safety basics to about 800 students from 16 schools across the county this spring. The program is free to students, parents and schools, with MCFSC covering all the costs of materials and transportation.

Spring is short, and fire season is long, in the highly combustible landscape of rural Mendocino County. Neighborhood Fire Safe Councils are a great way to prevent disaster by sharing information and resources, organizing workdays, and providing many other ways to help homes withstand wildfire. Communities can take their efforts even further - and receive substantial benefits - by becoming designated as Firewise USA® Communities by the National Fire Protection Association.

Reducing fire risk is an everyday activity—and suggestions from assessors can help.

Shane Lamkin  joined CAL FIRE ’s Mendocino Unit as the new Battalion Chief for the Public Information Officer and EMS Coordinator in late December. He’s in charge of CAL FIRE’s local social media and email list, alerting the public to any incidents as well as vegetation management projects. Read more about his background and what he will do.

In just three years, MCFSC’s Micro-Grants have helped dozens of communities become more defensible from wildfire. The window to apply for funding in this fourth year of the program is now just around the corner.

The MCFSC will be accepting applications for Micro-Grants up to $12,500 from March 1–31, 2025. In just three years, the program, which is funded by the PG&E Corporation and Measure P sales tax revenue, has distributed over a quarter-million dollars to initiatives in dozens of communities to improve fire safety and resilience.

Tune in to KMUD’s Monday Morning Magazine Interview between Pat Higgins and the MCFSC Executive Director, Scott Cratty.

The MCFSC crew works year-round on fuel reduction and chipping programs. They have a wealth of experience and undergo ongoing training in stewardship and the logic behind their skills. Learn more about how they spend their time.

Torrey Douglass, of Lemon Fresh Design, explores her process in creating the new website for the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. Learn how to navigate the new site and her insights.

In the season of 2024-25, the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council is promoting prescribed burns through its new GrizzlyCorps fellow, Emily Lord. Read on to learn more about Emily’s role.

Everyone knows that California, like many other states, is in the midst of an insurance crisis. The pressing questions are: what can property owners do to bring costs down; and is there help on the horizon?

Fire Safe Council Crew Joins Community Volunteers to Maintain Firebreak in Willits

United Disaster Relief calls for help to move into its forever home

This is the second of an exciting new series of podcasts and companion articles we are collaborating on with journalist Sarah Reith.  Read the full story about our Neighborhood Work Day on Blue Rock or listen to the podcast .

This is the first of an exciting new series of podcasts and companion articles we are collaborating on with journalist Sarah Reith.  Read the full story about the Grange Fire below or listen to the podcast .

Over the weekend, a passionate group of community members came together at the Manchester Grange. As a contribution to the exciting effort to breathe new life into the Grange, the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC), alongside Fire Safe Point Arena, hosted a lively Neighborhood Work Party. The event aimed to teach wildfire home-hardening techniques and then get everyone working together hands-on to help make the Grange safer from wildfire. 

Big News!  Last month the US Forest Service announced its 2024 Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) awards, and MCFSC was granted $1,300,000, mainly for work over the next 4-5 years to establish more Firewise USA®-certified communities throughout Mendocino County.

Wooden fences and gates, once considered innocuous, can act as kindling in a wildfire: if they connect to your house, they can act as a fuse carrying the fire directly to your home (as illustrated in the poster above). 

But fear not – we are pleased to introduce MCFSC’s “Most Dangerous Gate” makeover contest. If yours is chosen as the most dangerous one submitted, you will win a metal (or other nonflammable) gate makeover to replace the gate or section of fence that connects to your house!

On a misty morning in March, a group of 16 women gathered around a crackling wood stove, embarking on a journey to conquer their anxieties and embrace the power of chainsaws. They shared their apprehensions and their previous experiences (or lack of experience) with the tool. A collective sigh of relief swept through the group when one instructor recounted her tears after her initial encounters with a saw. It was clear, this wouldn’t be your typical chainsaw workshop.

The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Taking shape in 2003 and registered as a nonprofit corporation in March 2004, MCFSC has responded to the increased threat of major wildfires of recent years with tremendous growth, activity and creative projects to promote wildfire preparedness and safety throughout Mendocino County.