Working Together to Keep Our Families, Our Homes, and Our Forest, Safe
Welcome to the Galena Forest Community (GFC) website, your communication hub for all things relating to wildfire safety in our neighborhood! On this Home Page, you will find news on upcoming neighborhood fire safety activities and projects when they are planned. Using the menu buttons above, you will find educational material to help you plan your own defensible-space projects, information regarding evacuation preparedness and procedures, and the latest fire-safety information prepared by our local, state, and national partners.
*** October Curbside Chipping Program Completed ***
Our Autumn 2024 chipping program wrapped up on October 16th. We had a great response. (Let's call it the "Davis Fire effect.") We still have a long way to go for the Galena Forest Community as a whole to be able to say "we've done all we can" to reach a reasonable state of wildfire risk reduction. We all need to keep up the good work! (Or get started on it, as the case may be.)
The fact that all the green-waste chips are now being left on site really made a difference in how much work the chipping crew was able to get done. There was no time wasted with "dump runs." And it is worth repeating here that broadcasting the chips back onto your property to act as a natural mulch, has always been the intent. This practice is in keeping with the "circle of life" concept a healthy forest depends on.
Debunking negative comments about re-cycling the chips; first and foremost, green-waste chips are NOT a fire hazard (except within 5-feet of any flammable structure). In addition, some have commented they think the raw chips are unsightly. But given a couple months of weather, they become nearly invisible. Given a full year of exposure to the elements, they will be transformed into rich soil.
Just like pine needles, green-waste chips are also a great mulch for our pine trees. Keeping our huge pines healthy allows them to live WITH pathogens like bark beetles and mistletoe. Since lack of water is a huge stress on tree health, any mulch we can provide for them is helpful in that respect. It would be nice to see everyone adopt the practice of mulching around our trees, which can be accomplished by utilizing our chips and needles where they are truly needed, instead of sending them to the landfill.
When applying defensible space guidelines to our Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines, remember that they have fire resistant bark. Don't be afraid to mulch them, right up to the trunk, as they are able to tolerate the small ground-fire flame that pine needles and wood chips might create. Keep in mind it's the ladder fuels of taller brush growing beneath our trees that is dangerous to them, especially if the brush is dead or contains a lot of dead material. And of course, the natural "dying" of lower branches on our pines can be their own worst enemy. You don't need to climb your trees to remove dead limbs, but trimming them up to 10-feet above the ground will give a tree a great chance to survive a wildfire — IF they're healthy.
Keep in mind that wildfire science is constantly changing. The GFC is attempting to keep a catalog of the most recent materials available for forested neighborhoods. The Defensible Space Resources section of the GFC website contains copies of, or links to the most up-to-date material available. If you need any clarification of defensible space guidelines, you can contact the GFC directly for help finding answers for any questions you may have.
For those who still have green-waste to dispose of, and also have a way to transport it, TMFR is doing a "Green Waste Collection" day at the Galena Creek Park on November 2nd. Click HERE to be taken to their website for operating hours and material restrictions. That event will be the last "easy to use" event until late Spring of 2025.
As a reminder, please continue to document ALL time you spend clearing fuels from your property at any time of the year, plus any expenses you encounter. You can access and print out the form by clicking the "Volunteer Hourly Worksheet" button at the top of this page, and you can also click on the "Time/Expense/Investment Examples" button for a document describing all the activities and expenses that qualify. Documenting our efforts shows proof of an involved Community, which will help TMFR continue to secure future funding for these neighborhood programs. Simply submit your forms by email or by dropping them in the dropbox at 1740 Green Ash Road.
*** Thank you for your engagement in keeping our neighborhood safe ***
October 14, 2024
— FORMATION
The GFC was formed by neighborhood volunteers with the help of Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue, Nevada Division of Forestry, the Fire Adaptaded Nevada department of NDF, and the National Fire Protection Association/Firewise USA. The boundaries of our Community as approximated on our Boundaries Map, were defined by our professional firefighters. They consider the GFC to be a geographically homogeneous wildfire-risk zone and manage it as such. With all the various HOA's and hundreds of independent properties now included under one Firewise USA umbrella, we can efficiently coordinate everything pertaining to wildfire in one place for all of our residents.
Please note that being a part of the GFC is like being a part of your Zip Code; no need to opt-in as you're included by your physical location.
— COST
There is no cost to us for all the help and materials provided by the agencies mentioned above. All they ask is that everybody in the GFC do their part to help mitigate our man-made and naturally occuring wildfire risks. To that end, if asked, they will gladly help identify risks on our individual properties. Use the Contact Us page to make a request for risk assessment.
— COMMUNICATIONS
As email is no-cost, it will be our primary method of contact. If you have not already done so, please use the Contact Us page to provide your communicaions information. Your information will be kept strictly confidential — never shared nor abused.
That same Contact Us page and form is designed to be used for all of your general communications with the GFC Committee. Questions and suggestions are encouraged.
— VOLUNTEERING:
The GFC Committee will welcome your participation as a member of the Committee and/or as a Neighborhood Ambassador. Even though every resident of the GFC will receive all Community communications, we are going to strive to have at least one point of contact for each street or block in the Community. Neighborly, personal contact will further extend our communications network in a zero-cost way. Please consider showing your support and enthusiasm for the GFC as an Ambassador, as the more individuals we have, the easier each one's job will be. Request information via the Contact Us page.
Please be patient with us as we continue to develop this website. The core message will never change from being a one-stop-shop for wildfire prevention and evacuation safety information that pertains specifically to the GFC. However, the content will change as we find information to add, and as current content is updated. We'll use this Home Page to announce any changes and additions.
