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.
Our May and June events deserve their own website pages!
The just added "Events Gallery" pages will showcase the enthusiasm our residents have for creating a safer wildfire environment within our Community. By clicking on the menu button above, you'll be taken to a page to select which event you'd like to see. We'll be posting pictures and information on each one.
As enjoyable as the "Happy Hour w/Fire Experts" was, the "Galena Creek Trail Cleanup" and the "Week of Action" dumpster program were both a lot of hard work!
We had 40 volunteers for the creek cleanup, who put in a collective 138-hours of work building 44-slash piles that will eventually be burned by Truckee Meadows Fire crews. We're hoping to repeat this effort sometime this fall, as there is still a lot more to do.
Our Week of Action saw four 30-yard bins being jam-packed with green-waste from our yards. We estimate there were more than 3-dozen participants, with a dozen volunteers helping clip and compact the material to make efficient use of the bins. Dumpsters will never be as efficient as curbside chipping, but they're still very useful. We thank State Farm and Waste Management for their donation of the four bins.
Thanks to all who participated in these events! Each subsequent one seems to grow in size, which is a very good sign.
** Together, we can make Galena Forest safer and more prepared to withstand a wildfire's approach. **
— 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 wildfire risks on our individual properties. Use the Contact Us page to make a request for a free, non-binding risk assessment.
— DONATIONS
The GFC is formed as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Although we operate with 100% volunteer labor, there are still minimal operating expenses in operating any non-profit corporation (such as liability insurance, website presence, and incendental expenses). These unavoidable expenses will be covered with tax-deductible donations. Our pledge to you is that all donated funds are designated for only expenditures that benefit our community as a whole.
Donations of any amount can be made using Zelle. Our account is gfcwildfire. You can use this QR code: Donations can also be mailed by check made out to GFC Wildfire Mitigation, Inc. at 1740 Green Ash Rd, Reno, NV 89511. Whichever method you use, a receipt for your tax records will be promptly issued.
Please consider GFC Wildfire Mitigation for a qualified charitable distribution, if you're eligible. (Consult your tax advisor if you're not familiar with QCD's.) The GFC will always provide you with documentation for your tax records.
Our request to cover our expenses is a mere $25 per year per property owner. Some of our residents will respond with a larger donation than $25 (as we have already seen), but big or small, every donation will be put to good use for our Community as a whole.
— 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 always 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.
Donations can also be mailed by check made out to