TEDx Merit Academy Event

Hear from firefighters and leading experts in community risk reduction, wildfire response, and mitigation strategies.

Event Date: November 9th

Time: 1:00 PM

Tickets: https://tedxmeritacademy.com/tickets/

Location: 418 Project: 155 South River Street, Santa Cruz 

Fee: $20 - or $25 at the door

Topics covered:

“Tips of Fire Protection” by Tony Akin

• Tony will share mitigation strategies for property owners, including reducing grass along roadways, thinning tree limbs, and heavy brush reduction, all while protecting endangered species and sensitive habitats. He will also encourage groups to form Firewise Communities to minimize wildfire risks.

About Tony Akin:

• Tony Akin is Central Fire District’s Defensible Space Inspector, a FireWise cheerleader and a board member of the FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County. He focuses on mitigation strategies for property owners, including reducing grass along roadways, thinning tree limbs, and heavy brush reduction, all while protecting endangered species and sensitive habitats. He also encourages groups to form Firewise Communities to minimize wildfire risks.

“Wildfire: How can Homeowners Save Their Fire Insurance?" by Marco Mack

• What if you could lower your wildfire risk - and your insurance premiums - at the same time? As wildfires become more frequent and severe, many homeowners in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) have lost coverage entirely. In this eye-opening TEDx talk, Marco Mack introduces a boldnew solution: a national wildfire retrofit standard that empowers individual homeowners to take action. By having properties evaluated and scored by a trusted third party, insurers could finally base rates on proven fire prevention - not just ZIP codes.

Statewide Insurance Virtual Town Hall

Event Date: Oct 28, 2025

Time: 5:00 PM

Location: Online Zoom Meeting

You’re invited to join Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and CA State Fire Marshal Chief Daniel Berlant for an important virtual town hall on California’s insurance market.

Learn how the Department of Insurance is addressing the homeowner insurance crisis and hear from experts on how you can better protect your home, stay safer from wildfires, and reduce your insurance risk.

 Don’t miss this opportunity to get the latest updates directly from state leaders and wildfire experts. You will need to register for this discussion:

Please select this link to Register:

Defensible Space Landscaping Workshop

Event Date: October 25th

Time: 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM

Location: Van Ausdall Residence: 685 Rebecca Drive

Notes: Wine and light refreshments will be provided

Nina Terrace residents and gardeners of all levels are encouraged to join us for an afternoon of learning and awareness. 

Topics covered:

• Key elements of firescaping

• Fire-prone plants and fire-smart plants

• Maintenance practices for fire-resistant landscapes

• Plant and tree spacing

• Protecting mid- or steep-slope properties

• Ladder fuels and fuel continuity

• Mulch recommendations

• Fire smart yard checklist and landscaping tips

For more information, please send an email to NinaTerraceSLV@gmail.com

Please select this link to RSVP!

Central Coast Good Fire Fair

Event Date: October 11th

Time: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Location: Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park - Main Parking Lot

Notes: *The event is free, but parking at the park is $10. No registration required.

The Good Fire Fair will offer educational activities for children and adults:

• Learn how to safely build, tend and extinguish a campfire

• Watch live burns of piles and redwood understory growth (likely between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., depending on the weather)

• Savor sandwiches, burgers and Venezuelan food from local food trucks

• Observe demonstrations and visit informative booths

• Learn how to make your home more resilient to wildfire

• Test your fire knowledge and win prizes

“Kids will get to see a wildland fire engine up close, try fire science experiments and play educational games. Bring a camera,” said Satink Wolfson. 

For more information, please contact Barb Satink Wolfson at bsatink@ucanr.edu. 

Free Limited Ham Radio Technician Study Group

Description: A free, 6-week study group focusing on the Technician License, the entry-level for ham radio. The class is free, but registration is required.

Start Date: September 2nd

Time: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Location: Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), 5200 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (the green building with the golf ball on top).

Registration: Register on Sign Up Genius (limit of 20 study buddies) at https://rebrand.ly/hamclass.

Note: License exam dates are to be announced later.

Boulder Creek Fire Department Annual BBQ Dinner & Dance

Support your local fire department on Saturday, August 23rd 2025 for an evening of music, firehouse BBQ, and drinks. This is a family friendly event and all money raised goes towards the purchase of medical and rescue equipment!

Purchase tickets here: https://BPT.ME/6672301

Your Boulder Creek Volunteer Firefighters are happy to announce their 4th of July Pancake Breakfast!!

Join them for a breakfast full of pancakes, eggs, sausage and fruit.

They will be open 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM (or while supplies last). You can also catch the Boulder Creek 4th of July parade at 10:00 AM while you’re in town.

Prices are $15 for adults and $5 for kids under 12 years old.

All money raised goes towards the purchase of medical and rescue equipment!

PG&E Wildfire Safety Webinar for Santa Cruz Mountains

Wednesday, June 25   5:30 - 6:30 p.m

Join online: https://click.em.pge.com/?qs=4237bbe26dbf853f2d835e52bd5595e75a4d3359e8b7ad1271d82c37428f50e1c0ef67f71eb916833e9396f31cfedf4fe702e208fe261d40860d734cf2f3d89b

You can also join via phone by calling 877-939-1569

Conference ID: 8725878.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9457650994...

Meeting ID: 945 765 0994

Passcode: 12070

Lynn participated in this webinar. Please contact her directly with any questions.

Nina Terrace Firewise Community Burn Day

Here is the volunteer schedule for tomorrow's burn:  

8 - 10AM Allan & Jaymie

10AM Carson

11AM Dave J.

12PM Erika

1PM Daniel O.

2PM Jean

3PM Peter

4PM Laurel

Thank you for the help, it is much appreciated!

Firewise Workday Party

The Van Ausdall's have generously offered to host a post-workday gathering at 4PM, for the Nina Terrace Firewise community.  Snacks and beverages will be provided! In addition, we will have a Firewise Q & A, Information on Evacuation Workshop, Fire-Resistant Landscape Workshop, MURSvsFRSvsGMRS Class, and the RCD Chipping Program

Fuel Reduction Workday 

This coming Saturday there is a Fuel Reduction Workday from 8-4pm for the Nina Terrace Firewise community. There will be times when Santa Cruz Street may not be accessible due to the clearing performed during this period. Please consider allowing additional travel time when attempting to exit this area or park your vehicle on Rebecca Drive. In addition to the road work, we will also be accepting truckloads of vegetation from other parcels in our community - adding to the extra traffic in our zone. Thank you for understanding!

The goal is to clear 10-15 feet on either side of Santa Cruz Street, where appropriate. We will be cutting down dead and diseased trees. Brush will be taken to our property to burn, limbs will be piled for chipping in May with the RCD Spring Chipping Program, and the firewood will be bucked up and available on the ground until April 15th (first come, first serve). Healthy trees will be limbed up to the recommended 4-foot minimum from the ground. We will be raking, blowing, chain sawing, weed whacking, hauling, creating a lot of dust and making a lot of noise.

Thank you to those that spent some time working on fire mitigation last weekend. If you have not done so, please complete the Individual Risk Reduction online IRR form for our annual report to the NFPA. Document the time spent working during the event, the amount of people working with you on any risk reduction, and any expenses incurred. If preferred, complete the attached paper form, then scan and submit to ninaterraceslv@gmail.com.

Emergency Evacuation Road Tour 

A guided walk through private property will be available to offer the opportunity for you to examine an emergency access road for evacuation purposes.

Meet at Santa Cruz Street and Hillary Heights - 11:30 Sharp!

Annual Firewise Leadership Meeting 

Laurel and Lynn were both in attendance at the Firewise Leadership Meeting. We were introduced to the newest Firewise communities in SLV, notified of upcoming events, and requested to sign-up and volunteer for a variety of programs and events. 

Please check with either of us if you have any questions.

RCD Spring Chipping Webinar 

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84308399797

Learn about FREE chipping services for County residents. This webinar will discuss our chipping program details, who is eligible, how to sign up and general information about wildfire preparedness and defensible space.

Registration for RCD's Spring 2025 No-Cost Community Chipping Program begins April 1st. Early bird registration for chipping is available to residents of recognized FireWise Communities. The program is available to Santa Cruz County residents who live in areas, defined as the Wildland Urban Interface, that have the potential for wildfire to impact their properties.

Lynn participated in this webinar. Please contact her directly with any questions.

Fuel Reduction Workday 

The Nina Terrace Wildfire Action Plan has a goal in place to hold a Spring Fuel Reduction Event. This goal is meant to encourage all households within our Firewise community to gather and eliminate yard waste on their property by disposing of it in a Greenwaste bin. I am also offering an opportunity to relocate appropriate trimmings on a designated day to one of my parcels, where it will be disposed of resourcefully. This option is available to any neighbor within our Firewise community, and there is no limit to the amount of loads you dump during this time. Drop your loads at Santa Cruz Street and Hillary Heights, following signs for instructions on where to park and unload.

Two different dates have been chosen in the event that you are unable to attend one of them. We will be present and available on both of these days in order to advance mitigation efforts in our neighborhood. Please pick one day (or both) to participate.

Emergency Evacuation Road Tour 

A guided walk through private property will be available to offer the opportunity for you to examine an emergency access road for evacuation purposes.

Meet at Santa Cruz Street and Hillary Heights - 11:30 Sharp!

Multi-Use Radio Service Class 

Felton CERT is hosting  an introductory training at Mountain Community Resources. The event is free, but space is limited and you must register for a spot.  This training will best serve those who attend in person, with their own MURS radios. We'll provide loaner radios for those who don't have them now. 

Neighborhood organizations, Firewise participants, CERTs, and individuals interested in local radio communications are all welcomed to this training. We understand that we will be training folks with varied experience with radio use, so come one, come all who are interested. Our training focus is to educate everyone about the CERT Radio Plan, and give you some experience with the plan and MURS radios. The outcome, we hope, will be that we are all more effective at getting our needs met when disaster strikes and channels are busy, and to better serve those in more remote areas..

Lynn attended this training session. I believe it would benefit our Firewise community to form a Communication Group. This would be comprised of individuals spread throughout our neighborhood and capable of keeping a radio charged and responding appropriately in an emergency.

Watch Duty Webinar 

Please use this link to share any questions you may have in advance: 

We're excited to invite you to a special Q&A session with the creators of WatchDuty. If you aren't familiar with WatchDuty, you can find out more about the non-profit and app here.

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about how WatchDuty can help keep you informed and safe during wildfire season. You'll have the chance to ask questions, provide feedback, and gain insights directly from the app's creators.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9457650994...

Meeting ID: 945 765 0994

Passcode: 12070

Lynn participated in this webinar. Please contact her directly with any questions.