Orinda, California
FIREWISE PROGRAM
​​Many of us are concerned about being prepared for a wildfire. If you would like a no-obligation assessment of your home and property, please click here. A Fire-Adapted Community Ambassador will reach out within a few days to schedule the assessment.
A new Fire Safe Moraga Orinda grant is available -- up to $10,000 for groups of neighbors. Find more information here.
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Sleepy Hollow Orinda is a nationally recognized, certified Firewise USA® community. Firewise communities are those that have taken measures to become more resistant to wildfire structural damage and have followed a systematic approach to organizing and implementing a Firewise mitigation plan in their neighborhood.
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Here is our Firewise Certificate.
Here is a map that shows the geographic boundaries of our Firewise community.​​
To maintain our Firewise certification, we need to document steps that Sleepy Hollow neighbors have taken individually and collectively to become more fire resistant such as:
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Zone 0 is the first two feet surrounding your house. Zone 0 should be free of ALL combustible material including mulch, bark, leaves. All shrubs should be trimmed up one foot. THIS is the MINIMUM. On February 6, 2025, Governor Newsom signed an executive order requiring an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of structures located in the highest fire severity zones in the state. (That's Orinda!) Read more here.
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Cut grass to no higher than 3 inches
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Remove dead or dying trees, dead branches, and other ground debris
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Trim vegetation 3 feet back from the road and 15 feet up
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Cut bushes, shrubs, and trees so they are separated and don’t create a “fire fuel ladder”
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Remove juniper and bamboo 10 feet from the roadway​
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See MOFD Fire Code for more information.
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Here's information about Measure R Free Chipping Program.
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Removing fire fuels could be eligible for a $599 matching program. Learn more here.
And changing to ember-resistant vents could be eligible for an incentive. Learn more here.
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Please help us maintain our Firewise certification by completing this Firewise Investment Form to document both your time and money invested in making your property and our neighborhood more fire safe.​
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And importantly, make sure you are signed up for emergency alerts:
​Also, download the free app, Watch Duty, to get real-time push notifications about wildfires in California.
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PulsePoint, a downloadable app, is another great resource. Checkout this video of Dennis Rein, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Moraga-Orinda Fire District to learn more about it:
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Have more questions about Sleepy Hollow Orinda Firewise? Contact our Firewise Resident Leaders: Carol Brovelli or Rob Schroeder.
You'll find a number of other helpful resources in the list below:
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Firewise Contractors & Resources
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Catastrophe Modeling White Paper
- Evacuation Tips
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Lamorinda Residents Guide to Wildfire Preparedness & Evacuation​
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Zonehaven Community Evacuation Site
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For a fire or medical emergency in Contra Costa County, call (925) 933-1313 when using a cell phone or outside the county. This link explains why it's important.