Austin Fire Department celebrates new city's latest Firewise community
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department recognized the Walnut Creek Enclave neighborhood as a “Firewise” community Saturday afternoon.
Firewise USA is a national program that provides a collaborative framework for neighborhoods to mitigate wildfire risk. Walnut Creek Enclave will be the 21st community in Austin to become a Firewise community.
“I feel absolutely thrilled that more and more communities are joining into this,” said Marisa Lipscher, a Firewise community resident. “I think every Austinite— whether they own their home or they rent their home—can take steps to protect their property from wildfire.”
AFD’s Wildfire Division has a dedicated hub and map illustrating the wildfire risk in the metro area. Data on the map shows that 47% of sections within the map have an elevated or high wildfire risk.
The Austin metro area has the highest number with moderate to greater wildfire risk in the nation outside of California, according to a report by real estate CoreLogic.
Kari Hines, an A&M Forest Service public information officer, said that Firewise-certified communities reduce the risk of being affected by wildfires.
“A Firewise site will need to do some sort of education, and they’ll need to do some sort of actual risk reduction activity,” Hines said. “That could be things simple as helping neighbors clean up each other’s yard. It can be helping each other do a bulk purchase of fire-resistant mesh to put behind your vents at your house.”
AFD Wildfire Division Chief Carrie Stewart said that communities committed to a program like Firewise are game-changing to firefighters.
“Every time we are able to mitigate in advance, any of the areas around a home that could catch it on fire from a wildfire, an uncontrolled wildfire, it gives our first responders a little bit of extra cushion,” Stewart said.
