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First Blush Program

Truckee Fire continues to be a strong partner with the Serene Lakes Community. On September 2, Eric Horntvedt, Wildfire Prevention Manager, and his team of defensible space surveyors trained 15 volunteers on the pilot program “First Blush”. “First Blush” is a training program designed for local volunteers to review a property from a public street on 12 basic requirements for defensible space. These volunteers are eager to begin evaluating properties with the attached form. The goal is to complete the form and any identified opportunities will be marked and shared with the property owner. The completed form will be mailed to the address on record. The results and information will not be shared with other entities such as insurance companies, Truckee Fire, SLPOA Board, or others. However, aggregate results will be shared as the program progresses. The ultimate goal is to educate property owners on defensible space requirements and their own opportunities.

The “First Blush” Program began this fall and will continue next summer. It is the hope that more individuals will want to train and volunteer. Additional training will be offered early next summer. The sooner “we” can cover our community, the sooner property owners can be notified of their defensible space opportunities. This “friendly”, educational approach will aid our community in assuring 100% of lots with structures meet basic defensible space requirements.

Truckee Fire has a goal to inspect each property in their jurisdiction at least once every three years. Given our location, forest concerns, and egress issues, every property owner should want their lot to meet 100% of defensible space requirements. Interesting, one area that Truckee Fire surveyed (not Serene Lakes), only 10% passed their defensible space requirements. This means 90% of properties did not. Let’s hope Serene Lakes will do better.