KELSEYVILLE RIVIERA >> Sometimes borne out of tragedy individuals find the wherewithal to build again and move forward better than ever.
Longtime Riviera resident Cheryl Crockett lost her home in the 2015 Valley Fire, which motivated her to become one of the first applicants to participate in the Home Hardening initiative pilot program. But she noted the retrofit on her North Slope Drive house gives her peace of mind. “I realize it’ll make me safer, should I ever be required to evacuate again,” she said. “I lived here since 2011 but I lived down the street since 2008. I was one of the first homeowners to inquire about home hardening three years ago, and I have been on them ever since. They picked me, to get me out of their hair.”
Leading the tour of the exterior of the North Slope Drive structure was Samantha Chance Colton, Coordinator with North Coast Opportunities (NCO). “We were approached by Lake County, who was approached by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). But they didn’t have the resources to host the program, so they came to NCO. We’ve done a lot of work with the county. NCO is a Community Action Agency that primarily serves the populations in Lake and Mendocino Counties. NCO was established in 1968 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, with the mission of assisting low-income and disadvantaged people to become self-reliant. NCO employs approximately 250 people, has an annual budget of approximately $33 million, and has successfully managed major grants from federal, state, and foundation funders.
The $40,000 retrofit was made possible from FEMA. Of the total $95 million was allocated through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMPG) and $21.9 million is state money from Senate Bill 85, passed in 2022, to perform defensible space and home hardening measures on existing homes to mitigate against wildfire loss. Colton noted NCO’s director, Deanna Fernweh said the goal is to complete up to 500 homes in the next three years.
“We do have an income scale to go by depending on the homeowner’s income,” she said. “They could receive a no share cost share of cost, a 10% share or in rare cases a 25% share.” If it is a 10% share, the state will pay 15% and FEMA 75%. For a 25% share, FEAM still pays 75%. Homeowner Crockett noted she is the only income earner in her household and so, is a no share applicant. “This is the first Home Hardened structure in the Riviera, one of five communities,” said Colton. (The program enlisted other partners in the pilot program including: El Dorado, Tuolumne, San Diego and Siskiyou counties). “So we wanted to share our experience, challenges and success, to give other communities data to help them move forward with Home Hardening.”
And she went on, they know there’ll be another wildfire but they do not know when. “We plan to move forward as aggressively as possible,” she added. “And we like to get as many homes under our belt as possible.” Although there was no vegetation clearance required at Crockett’s home, Colton recalled neighbors who require large tree removal just cannot afford to do the work.
She did point out near the Crockett house was a tree that had been treated to prevent fire hazard. In fact, one requirement of receiving a home hardening grant, is that the homeowner agree to a 20-year commitment to vegetation management. In the Riviera a total of 10 homes are in various stages of retrofit. Colton used the home’s surrounding deck as an example of targeted retrofit. “We didn’t replace the entire deck, what happened was, we replaced with noncombustible material,” she said. “The first foot of decking that meets the structure, that’s the crucial point. There is noncombustible siding as well. It is not wood but concrete. It matches very well and looks beautiful.”
The State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant also addressed the assembled crowd on June13. He noted the fire mitigation program was established with passage of AB 38, which directed Cal Fire and Cal OES to enter a joint powers agreement to administer a program of financial assistance for homeowners to do Home Hardening. “Especially for those most vulnerable to wildfires,” he said. “But home retrofits have never been done on a scale like it is being done in this neighborhood (Riviera). We have to get entre neighborhoods to truly reap the benefits.”
Berlant praised the community’s efforts for creating a model that others can replicate. Now is the time to research retrofit improvements with ember and ignition resistant materials and increase chances of a home surviving a wildfire,” he said. “We know this work gives all homes greater chance to survive.
