The Wildland Urban Interface
(WUI)
What is FireWise?
Firewise USA® is a voluntary, community-based recognition program that helps neighborhoods reduce their risk from wildfires through education, organizing, and implementing mitigation strategies. The program provides a framework for residents to work together to make their homes and communities more resistant to ignition by creating defensible space and hardening structures. It emphasizes community collaboration to learn about wildfire risks and take action to enhance wildfire resilience.
Fire season is now year-round! Neighborhood cooperation and communication is key to wildfire safety.
Learn what the Santa Cruz Fire Marshall recommends you do to prepare your home:
Find out if you are in a WUI?
Lost your insurance? You’re not alone. Learn about the CA FAIR Plan
Wildfires represent a serious, and thanks to climate change, growing threat to neighborhoods in a Wildland Urban Interface. The homes in the Arroyo Seco neighborhood of Santa Cruz are located in a WUI that includes Arroyo Seco Canyon, Moore Creek Preserve, Pogonip, Harvey West Park and Evergreen Cemetery ravine.
This site is the home of the Firewise organization for our neighborhood. We have collected useful and actionable resources to help our neighbors:
Protect their homes,
Collectively take practical actions to protect the WUI areas; Arroyo Seco Canyon, Pogonip, ravine,
Responsibly restore and regenerate our neighborhood recreation areas so we, and the next generation, can continue to enjoy the outdoors that make our Santa Cruz neighborhood special.