Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council Inc

The Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council was formed in 1998, following the Mill Fire which destroyed 1200 acres and 12 homes in Running Springs. Following that incident, we discovered that our mountain communities were not fully prepared for wildfires, depending instead on our fire departments to "put the fires out." We came together - from Crestline to Green Valley Lake - to work with US Forest Service, Calfire, SB County Fire and our local fire departments to learn what homeowners could do to make a difference in surviving these devastating wildfires.

The question is why have a Fire Safe council? Answer: members of our neighborhood need to know what to do to make and keep us safe from wildfire. Why? Anything that our neighbors do (or don’t do) can have a direct effect on us…GOOD or BAD.

The Fire Safe Council is here to help educate our friends and neighbors to protect the whole community, HOUSE BY HOUSE. We must work as neighborhood groups, get the word out and get the work done. Let’s work smart and help each other for the safety of us all!

Fire Safe Councils are about more than “fire”, we are about public safety. We collaborate with other organizations in our endeavors: fire departments, COPs, Neighborhood Watch, Veterans, Red Cross, and all the government agencies. Our primary role is education and communication – where ever there are meetings we can be there to share valuable information in advance of the disaster.

Wildfire preparation is a critical component of living in the mountains (Wildland Urban Interface) areas. We choose to reside away from the "city", but that brings different and very real challenges for being prepared.

Our purpose is to provide citizens with updates and information from our local, state and federal agencies regarding fire prevention and protection efforts and conditions; helping neighbors with fuel reduction (brush & trees), understanding evacuation preparedness, and maintaining forest health; learning what is being done by our agency partners to make our lives safer and acknowledging our role in those efforts.

Over the years we have done that through producing  major publications (Living with Wildfire in the Inland Empire in 2002, 2004 & 2007), using grants to remove fuels (more than $400,000 in grants for sites from Crestline to Green Valley Lake), coordinating community wildfire preparedness meetings, maintaining fire information alerts and updates, installing free smoke detectors, hosting special events that bring fire departments and locals together (Pine Cone Festival), participating in community activities, fairs and meetings, organizing Chipper drop off and clean up days, supporting ham radio operators and training  through a radio loaner program, and much more!

We CAN make a difference in how our neighborhood survives a wildfire - but we have to do it together!