Firewise Communities/USA
Firewise Communities/USA® is a chartered, national organization dedicated to lessening the danger of wildfires to established communities that live in our forests and wild-land areas. As of June 2009, there were 484 certified communities in 38 states enrolled in the Firewise program. In October 2009, The Springs at High Rock received its certification. The requirements for certification included: (1) an assessment of the community’s exposure to wildfires by the NC Forestry Service and suggestions on how to mitigate our exposure, (2) establishment of a committee dedicated to implementing those suggestions, (3) a commitment of $2.00 per capita per year in money or time-work credits toward reaching those goals and (4) submission of an action plan of short, intermediate and long term projects to accomplish the goals.
Enrollment in the Firewise Communities/USA® program allows the community to apply for federal and state grant money to help in reaching the goals.
Firewise Committee members are listed on the Committees page of our website. As of 2015, three of our long-term goals/projects have been accomplished. They were the construction of a secondary emergency egress-only roadway onto Route 8 from Sierra Trace Road along the old fire tower road, the establishment of a comprehensive evacuation protocol, and the installation of a 30,000 gallon dry hydrant system at the west end of Rocky Cove Lane.
The Emergency Response and Evacuation Plan has its own link on our website’s Home page left menu. We highly encourage all home owners to read and understand the protocol that the Healing Springs Fire Department and the Davidson County Emergency Services will be following if there is a wild fire in The Springs.
In addition, a Quick Guide for Emergency Response is available on our website’s Document Downloads page. Five additional Firewise booklets for prospective builders, residents, and lot owners that contain information for recommended landscaping and building materials in our forested community plus leaf litter and fire pit safety are:
Firewise Safer from the Start: a very good booklet for developers, builders, and homeowners designing their new home
Firewise Guide to Landscaping and Construction: an outline explaining the zone concept of home and landscape layout,
Firewise Landscaping in NC: a listing of the plants native to NC with their flammability ratings, so the homeowner can make an informed decision on what to plant around his home.
The committee recommends two websites that provide excellent information regarding the Firewise program. They are www.firewise.org and www.ncfirewise.org.
To contact the Firewise Committee with questions and/or comments please email the Firewise Committee.
Updates will be posted in the weekly email Springs Newsletter.
