Firewise Calaveras Festival spotlights home hardening as CAL FIRE outlines "Zone 0" guidance

Trina Wally, executive director of the Calaveras County Resource Conservation District, opened the first annual Firewise Calaveras Festival and thanked the volunteer committee that put the event together in six weeks.

Emily Kilgore, public information officer and fire prevention specialist with the CAL FIRE Tuolumne–Calaveras unit, gave the festival's technical presentation on defensible space and home hardening. Kilgore said the state requirement under Public Resources Code 4291 creates an individual fuel-reduction obligation around structures and that, "It's actually 100 feet is what's required by law or to your property line," noting inspectors may enforce compliance after education and repeated noncompliance.

Kilgore described a new, narrower "Zone 0" concept being discussed by the board of forestry — roughly the five feet immediately adjacent to a structure — and advised replacing combustible landscaping within that area and hardening building elements near the house. "When we say nothing combustible [in zone 0], we're saying, replace any mulch and wood chips with gravel or pavers," she said, adding that common ignition sources include parked trailers, stored firewood and gutters where embers collect.

Her practical recommendations included replacing combustible deck material in the first five feet with noncombustible product where possible, using metal mesh vents ("sixteenth to an eighth" mesh), installing dual-pane windows rather than lower-cost vinyl that can melt, maintaining gutters and clear driveway access for fire engines (Kilgore recommended 10–12 feet width), and posting reflective address markers to help first responders locate homes.

Kilgore pointed people to take-home resources at her table and a consolidated CAL FIRE Linktree for vetted documents and emergency contacts. "Both of all of the home hardening information that I talked about...can be found in the Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide that I have over on my table," she said.

The festival also featured a brief vendor demonstration of ember- and flame-resistant products and an extended Red Cross preparedness segment urging residents to assemble go bags, copies of identity and residency documents and three days' supplies for initial evacuation. An unidentified Red Cross disaster-action team member warned, "You may only have 2 minutes to get out," and urged residents to sign up for Calaveras County's Everbridge alert system.

The festival organizers said the event's purpose was local outreach: to expand Firewise and Fire Safe Council participation, connect homeowners with grants and contractors, and encourage neighbors to help neighbors. Organizers recommended residents use the materials and contacts distributed at the event to begin home-hardening and to consult insurance agents and contractors about compliance and cost implications.

Next steps noted at the festival included continued RCD outreach, interagency evacuation rehearsals in Forest Meadows HOA and follow-up educational visits by CAL FIRE staff for residents requesting property-specific, nonenforcement guidance.