June 21, 2008: Wildfire Safety Fair
As part of the City of Ojai Last Defense Fuel Break project, a Wildfire Safety Fair was held at the Nordhoff High Scool in Ojai on Saturday, June 21. Wildfire Safety Fair Slide Show
July, 2007: $5000.00 State Farm Grant Awarded:
A WISE Grant in the amount of $5000.00 was awarded to the Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council. The project will improve the safety of the citizens of the Ojai Valley by providing complete, accurate and timely information about wildfire threats and what to do in case of a wildfire emergency in the area. The Zaca Fire as well as last year's Day Fire dramatically underscore the need for a reliable, high-capacity and centralized safety information distribution system that swings into action when wildfire threatens the valley.
Grant objectives include:
• Establishing and maintaining reliable, tested channels for getting information during wildfire incidents.
• Constructing multiple, redundant channels for safety information and updates so that all valley residents have information whether or not they have Internet access.
• Educating people about where to get safety information and updates during wildfire incidents.
Bob Daddi, local State Farm Agent and member of the Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council Advisory Council, was instrumental in getting this grant. Bob's idea to publish this information in the phone book - a simple, low-tech, and universally available idea - was a winner.
2007: City of Ojai Last Defense Fuel Break Project:
A Federal Grant of over $250,000 (including matching funds from the C.R.E.W., the Ventura County Fire Department, and the City of Ojai) was awarded to the Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council'. The project will create a two-mile fuel break along the public/private wildland/urban interface (WUI) to the immediate north of the city of Ojai, supplementing existing, maintained fuel breaks and ceating a nearly continuous area where fire crews will be better able to make a last stand against approaching wildfire.
The project will be accomplished by the C.R.E.W., part of a well-orchestrated team of non-profit and governmental agencies coordinated by the Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council.
Benefits to the community also include a boost to the local community by providing jobs to local disadvantaged youth to do the work, and a boost to the local, economically depressed citrus industry by providing at no cost, significant tonnage of high quality biomas to citrus growers.
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