The GCHNA Firewise Committee periodically sends out fire safe related educational emails to greater Cement Hill residents and property owners, and the information is also posted on this page for future reference.
October 2024:
Many in our community have been, or soon will be moved to the California FAIR plan for wildfire insurance. This is a brief summary of our understanding of the plan, but we are not experts so check with your insurance agent, and visit the California FAIR Plan website.
The FAIR plan is a not-for-profit insurance plan of ‘last resort’, for properties that cannot get insurance in the regular market. It is composed of all insurers licensed to write property insurance in California: it is not a government program. Rates are determined to cover predicted losses, and must be approved by the Insurance Commissioner. You must apply through an insurance broker, and the rates will be the same between brokers if you are using the same coverage and deductibles. The FAIR plan does not deny coverage or raise rates if you have prior losses as traditional insurers can.
The FAIR plan covers losses due to fire, lightning, internal explosions, and smoke. They cover up to $3 million for homes, $20 million for commercial properties. Because it doesn’t cover water damage, liability, falling objects or theft, you need to have a ‘wraparound plan’ through a traditional insurer. So now you will have two insurance policies, and the costs are higher.
How to decrease costs from the FAIR plan:
- Choose higher deductibles.
- Only insure items you require, and to the amount you need. For example, you can choose to insure your house and personal items, but not the fence and outbuildings.
- Wildfire mitigation efforts you make can decrease your costs by up to 25%.
Since July 2023 the California FAIR Plan has provided discounts available to policy holders which could potentially save up to a combined total of almost 25% off the wildfire portion of the annual premium. The insured must apply for these discounts and an inspection process will be completed to verify. You can apply even AFTER you have the plan.
The discounts are:
- Being in a Firewise Community: 10% discount
- Protecting the Structure Discount (home hardening): Reduces the wildfire portion of the policy’s premium by 10%.
- Dwelling must have a Class-A Fire Rated Roof (composition shingle, stone, concrete/clay tile, or Metal).
- Six inches at the bottom of all exterior walls must be made of non-combustible material.
- Vents must be ember and fire resistant (1/8” wire mesh covering).
- Windows must be double or triple paned
- Eaves must be enclosed.
An excellent resource on home hardening can be found at: https://www.fire.ca.gov/home-hardening
Protecting the Immediate Surroundings (defensible space) reduces the wildfire portion of the policy’s premium by 5%.
- Vegetation and debris must be cleared from under the decks.
- There must be an ember resistant zone maintained within five feet of the home. This includes no wood fencing adjacent to the structure
- There must be no combustible sheds or outbuildings within 30 feet of the dwelling.
- Defensible space compliance (including trimming up trees, removal of brush and debris from yard in compliance with California Public Resources Code 4291)
Recent changes to the California Fair Plan:
- You can pay your insurance monthly, but if your payment is late you will be canceled immediately (!) and you will have to reapply. There are no automatic payment options!
- The limit on home insurance value is $3 million.
- They now insure commercial property up to $20 million. They are considering increasing this in the future.
July 2024:
About Evacuation Routes
It is not possible to completely plan in advance, because it depends upon where the fire is coming from, which way the wind is blowing, and which roads might be closed. It is helpful and important for you to think through possible evacuation options in advance, so under the stress of an evacuation you can quickly decide which way to go. You may be directed by emergency personnel, but most likely not early on in the fire event.
If you live along Cement Hill Road, there is only one Emergency Fire Exit Road, which connects the end of Cement Hill Road with Cedarsong Road, then down to highway 49. See this map on our website https://www.gchna.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Fire-Exit-Map4.pdf. This road is on private property and ONLY to be used in the case of an emergency evacuation situation.
The best strategy is to pack up when there is a warning, and leave early. If it turns out to be unnecessary, all you’ve lost is several hours of packing and unpacking. A wildfire is unpredictable – evacuating early is one thing you can control.
GCHNA’s Firewise Committee’s Role
The Firewise Committee’s mission is to educate and support our community to improve fire safety for all of us. With over 700 properties in GCHNA we are not able to identify and notify specific homeowners about fire safety concerns.
Nevada County has regulations requiring minimum road clearances for 911 emergency vehicles. Per Code Chapter G-IV, Article 7: the shoulder must be clean and clear of vegetation, the next 10’ on both sides of the road are reduced vegetation with trees thinned and limbed to 15’ vertical clearance, all branches and dead bushes/trees removed, and weeds/grass cut to 4”. This is the responsibility of the property owner.
If you are concerned about a neighbor’s property requiring mitigation, the best way is to talk to your neighbor about fire risk concerns from overgrown vegetation. This often is enough to encourage people to do the work.
Unfortunately GCHNA doesn’t have a budget to help people who are not able to do the work themselves, nor does the Firesafe Council at this time.
If you are unsuccessful in getting your neighbor to do mitigation work, a formal complaint can be made to the Office of Emergency Services, and they will send out personnel to assess the problem and talk to the homeowner. If the homeowner isn’t willing to mitigate the problem, they can assess fines or charge them to do the work. This of course is the option of last resort, as it is complaint based and can damage neighborhood relationships.
If you are unsure how to contact the owner of vacant land, we can assist you in getting an address of the registered owner so you can write a letter.
There is an excellent new resource from the Coalition of Firewise Communities entitled Is There A Wildfire? 5-24. It directs you to resources to hear about wildfires and be kept updated live. https://www.nccoalitionfwc.com/learn-what-to-do-education-resources
June 2024
Important reminder:
It is the responsibility of the property owners to keep 10’ clear on the side of the road, to ensure safe access for fire trucks.
EVACUATION PLANNING TIPS
Be prepared before a fire event:
- Update your Go Bag for this year, including refreshing medications, food, water and pet supplies.
- Review important documentation, especially emergency contacts and medications.
- Register for Emergency Alerts. Register for CodeRED at ReadyNevadaCounty.org/emergencyalerts. These alerts can be received as text, email, landline, cell phone and TTY. Download the CodeRed Mobile Alert App for your cell phones.
- Know your Zone: Evacuation warnings or orders are given by zone. Go to protect.genasys.com to put in your address and get your zone. Post it on the refrigerator! Download Genasys Protect Mobile app on your phone to follow evacuation orders.
- Identify Five Trusted Allies: These are people who will check on you, and you will check on during a disaster. Know their Zone. Look out for your elderly neighbors or those with disabilities!
What to Do During a Fire Event:
- Evacuation Warning for your Zone: A potential threat to life and property. Get prepared for evacuation. Pack your car – the warning can quickly change to an evacuation order. Those who require additional time to evacuate should leave.
- Evacuation Order: An immediate threat to life. This is an order to leave NOW. The area is closed. Put a ‘Nevada County Sheriff Evacuated’ tag on you home to assist emergency workers clearing the area.
- Hi-Lo Siren: alerts neighborhoods of evacuation order.
Available – Let the Firewise Committee or your Neighborhood Rep know if you need any!
- Evacuated Tags
- Refrigerator magnets for your Zone
- Cards for Information for your Five Allies
- Xmall bags that can be used for your go bag.