Firewise USA - NFPA Banner

Help your neighborhood become a Firewise USA®Community today! 

Lead your neighborhood in this grassroots initiative that offers a structured approach to enhance your wildfire resilience. This initiative promotes collaborative efforts among residents and the Laguna Beach Fire Department to bolster the fire resistance of homes and better prepare your neighborhood. Your neighborhood group of at least 8 homes will collaborate on developing a neighborhood wildfire risk assessment plan, create a wildfire action plan, engage your neighbors in taking action to meet wildfire risk reduction goals, and receive recognition from the National Fire Protection Association. 

Recognized Communities:

Pending Communities:

At this time, the following communities have not been formally recognized by NFPA. They are currently discussing and developing the documents to submit their application (e.g. forming a core group, conducting the NFPA community risk assessment, and/or drafting their 3-year action plan); OR awaiting a final decision from CALFIRE / NFPA regarding a submitted application.

  • Top of the World Neighborhood Association - Top of the World / Old Top of the World area of the City. For more information, contact Resident Leader Tim Templeton at timtempleton@gmail.com

How to Become a Firewise USA® Community

 To earn recognition as a Firewise USA® site, a community must meet a set of voluntary criteria on an annual basis.

  • STEP 1: Organize It, Form a Core Group -- Create a volunteer board or committee to represent your community with a designated resident leader as the point of contact. This can be easily done with access to a Homeowners Association (HOA) or similar local group. Include local fire departments, state forestry agencies, elected officials, emergency managers, and property management companies.
    Establish the boundaries of the site to contain a minimum of 8 dwelling units and a maximum of 2500. Multiple Firewise USA® sites can be located within a city/town or master-planned community/HOA. Then, use the program portal to register (portal.firewise.org/user/login).
  • STEP 2: Plan It, Develop a Wildfire Risk Assessment Plan -- With a portal account, follow the guidelines to complete a community wildfire risk assessment. NFPA provides a free template and tutorial here, with additional videos on the website. The assessment needs to be updated at a minimum of every 5 years. The risk assessment is the basis for creating a three-year action plan that identifies and prioritizes communitywide efforts to be taken each year. These may include overseeing local activities, events, investments, and homeowner education. Utilize resources like California’s State Liaison contacts and the Firewise USA template to learn more about requirements and how to get started. Engage in online training, like this Community Wildfire Risk Assessment Tutorial for comprehensive understanding and action planning.
  • STEP 3: Do It, Engage In the Community -- Create and maintain a wildfire action plan. The committee should draft an action plan, prioritizing risk reduction projects and suggesting homeowner activities. Include educational efforts to be undertaken annually or over multiple years. Revisit the action plan and update it at least every 3 years, referencing California’s 3-year action plan as a model.
    Complete the actions identified in the plan to satisfy annual participation. Examples might include hosting community education workshops, distributing materials by print (or digitally), and organizing a Firewise Day. Document the volunteer hours throughout the year. Each site must invest the equivalent of one volunteer hour per dwelling unit, annually. So, a site with 100 homes would require 100 volunteer hours (or monetary equivalent for incurred costs). 
  • STEP 4: Tell NFPA About It -- After meeting the criteria, the resident leader submits their community to attain “In Good Standing Status” and become a recognized Firewise USA® site. Each year, sites renew their status by reporting their activity to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Detail the actions and efforts in your community to engage residents and complete mitigation work at the home level. Be aware of additional state-specific application requirements.

 Click Here for National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Notice for California Residents Regarding Firewise and Insurance Discounts

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