The Fire Safe Council For Monterey County's mission is to to help protect lives, property and resources from the threat of wildfires in the County of Monterey by funding and implementing wildfire preparation projects, and by providing education to help mobilize individuals, neighborhoods, and agencies to reduce costs and losses from wildfires.
Wildfire threat is growing. Our preparedness must grow too. The Fire Safe Council For Monterey County (FSCMC) is a county-wide, volunteer-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing harm from wildfire before disaster strikes. We focus on education, obtaining grants to help communities prepare for wildfires, outreach, and proven action-based strategies to help make communities safer in the event of wildfire. California’s increasingly catastrophic wildfires and rising homeowner insurance rates highlight the urgent need to prepare before wildfires start.
FSCMC helps support 56 Firewise USA® communities which in turn support over 17,000 residents to implement defensible space, evacuation planning, and home-hardening, all proven methods to reduce harm from wildfires.
We’re working throughout the county to build local knowledge and inspire action to prepare for wildfires. As a small nonprofit, we need support by the public to continue this vital work.
Please donate and join us in helping prepare Monterey County for wildfires.
Our organization benefits all of Monterey County.
After analyzing risk to homes from wildfires in every county in the nation, the USDA states on its wildfirerisk.org website, "Homes in Monterey County have, on average, greater risk than 99% of counties in the US."
Monterey County is rated at the highest priority of need for landscape scale wildfire reduction work by the National Wildfire Leadership Council, and most non-federal land in Monterey County is rated at High, or Very High threat of wildfire by CAL FIRE. The geographic and economic makeup of Monterey differs greatly throughout the County. Throughout the County, it is the goal of FSCMC to raise awareness of the need for wildfire prevention and preparation and to help fund specific projects to achieve that goal (ie, defensible space and home hardening workshops, neighborhood chipping programs, and emergency evacuation preparedness), and engage new donors and secure recurring sponsors.
The Fire Safe Council For Monterey County, composed of primarily volunteers, is at the center of Monterey County's efforts to protect against wildfire, linking official agencies with a growing number of Firewise neighborhoods through monthly meetings, public events, and grants. Since I began the process of having my neighborhood designated as a Firewise community in 2022, FSCMC has provided essential information, education, and support allowing us to greatly improve our level of preparedness.
- Maxine Balma, Vista del Toro Firewise, Salinas Monterey Hwy, Monterey
