VIDEO: Fire season may be over, but experts say winter is the easiest time for homeowners to prepare for future wildfire threats. โBeing Firewise before fire season basically lowers our risk for wildfire damage,โ said Linda Davis, Jacksonvilleโs volunteer Firewise coordinator. โAnd if a wildfire should come to Jacksonville, we hope to experience a lot less damage fewer losses.โ
Jackson County is currently ranked fourth in the nation for Firewise communities, with Jacksonville accounting for 40 of those sites. Local leaders say that strong community participation is the driving force behind the regionโs success. โItโs kind of a communitywide effort, and itโs really nice when you see people come together for a greater cause like this,โ said Davis.
The Firewise program offers residents several tools, including neighborhood dumpsters for yard debris and a biannual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. But Davis said the most valuable resource is the individual home risk assessment. โโWe walk around with the homeowner, so we show them what we’re recommending, and then we give them a written report and everybody that we’ve done in the last year or two is theyโre very grateful and they thank us.โ said Davis.
