EL DORADO COUNTY KICKS OFF WILDFIRE AWARENESS SEASON

Published on April 04, 2025

EL DORADO COUNTY KICKS OFF WILDFIRE AWARENESS SEASON

(PLACERVILLE, CA) – 

Following a morning roundtable session with federal, state and local representatives from organizations involved with wildfire preparedness and protection where they discussed successful strategies to decrease the risks associated with wildfires, lessons learned from recent fires, current insurance initiatives, and challenges that remain for citizens living in high severity fire zones, El Dorado County kicked off its Wildfire Awareness Season campaign with a press conference urging residents, agencies and organizations throughout El Dorado County to be better prepared for wildfire.

“El Dorado County has experienced large and destructive wildfires, most notably the 2021 Caldor Fire, which destroyed 782 homes and displaced thousands of residents,” said George Turnboo, El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Chair. “Wildfires don’t start according to a calendar,” he added. “Reducing the impacts of these destructive wildfires is a shared responsibility between fire agencies, land managers, local organizations and the public and we must be ready all the time.”

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors last Tuesday adopted a proclamation to launch a wildfire awareness campaign educating residents on the many actions they can take proactively to prepare for and build resilience against wildfires under the theme Hope is not a strategy – be prepared.

“Achieving wildfire preparedness and resilience is only possible through strong partnerships and working together with our communities to implement effective strategies and solutions,” said Tamara Johnston, Chair of the Georgetown Divide Fire Safe Council.

El Dorado County’s Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience and its partners are implementing countywide wildfire prevention strategies that emphasize a grass roots and multi-stakeholder approach to preparing residents for future wildfires, including free defensible space assessments for homeowners, community evacuation drills and community based projects including removing flammable roadside vegetation.

The Wildfire Awareness Season Proclamation can be found here. Additional information on El Dorado County’s wildfire preparedness activities can be found at the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience website.

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