Episode 4 – Wildfire Prevention in California: Insights from Santa Clara County FireSafe Council CEO Seth

Seth is the CEO of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, which works on the border of Santa Cruz County and San Mateo County with other FireSafe councils. He is a professional who leads the way for FireSafe councils and has been involved with multiple FireSafe councils, but very few have as much activity as he does. The wildland urban interface (WUI) is often depicted as a house in the forest, but it is actually a heavily populated area with neighbors five feet away.

The wildland urban interface is a combination of urban downtown San Jose and rural areas and is a high-risk area for wildfires. The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council works with other FireSafe councils on the border of Santa Cruz County and San Mateo County.

The WUI is growing in California, and it’s not in the proverbial forests. It’s in suburban areas that tend to meet up where the vegetation also kind of crisscrosses, and that’s the biggest challenge that we see and that we work on.

When the FireSafe Council opportunity opened up, he thought it would be a great fit for me to help them be more creative.

Seth said this problem is not only a technology solution but a combination of tech plus practical application with boots on the ground.

Silicon Valley savvy means developing other revenue streams besides donations and funding typical philanthropic work.

As we looked at the strategy, we decided to become a deeper, more significant partner to our clients, which included municipalities, local towns, and individual homeowners.

Technology is helping to lead the way in reassessing how California prices insurance, by using historic catastrophe models to better determine if a risk is mitigated enough to write a policy.

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Thank you for joining us on the journey of fighting wildfires. We understand that we are in a constant battle with mother nature and things seem hopeless when we have to evacuate, leave our homes and not know what we will come back to. 

On our podcast, we bring experts to educate homeowners, communities, and businesses on what they can do against wildfires. Our team consists of wildfire prevention specialists, retired fire captains, and fire marshals. 

If you’re trying to get educated, find a solution to the wildfires, and do everything you can for your property then you have arrived at the right place!

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