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What is BE Fire Safe and what is its purpose?
Be Fire Safe Benewah County
is a proactive program of the Benewah
County Office of Emergency Management. Be Fire Safe is funded by the Idaho
Department of Lands and Bureau of
Land Management, through the National Fire Plan
program. Its purpose is to:
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Increase awareness of the risk of
wildfire in the wildland urban interface (WUI) areas of Benewah County.
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Help homeowners learn how to
protect their lives, homes, and businesses by creating a defensible space. This includes
two activities:
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Where
appropriate, provide a one-time service to reduce dangerous fuels from around
homes, and
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Educate
homeowners on the things they can do — in addition to fuel reduction—to protect
their homes from wildfires now and in the future.
How do I know if my property qualifies?
Homes and
structures in a forested environment - the wildland
urban interface - may qualifty.
What do I need to do
to participate in the program?
Call the Be Fire Safe at (208)
772-6704 and leave your name,
address and phone number on the recorder or use the below website. You will be sent a packet of
information, including a Request to Participate
form. After completing this form, return it to
Be Fire Safe and you will be contacted to set up an
appointment to visit your home and develop a fuel
reduction work plan. During the visit we will
evaluate your property and cooperatively make
recommendations with you on what can be done to
create a defensible space around your home.
Most likely this will include both things you can do
yourself - such as cleaning pine needles from rain
gutters and placing screens around low decks - and a
plan developed specifically for your site to reduce
dangerous fuels from 100-150 feet around your home,
which the Be Fire Safe program funds.
Who does the work and
how do I know they are qualified?
All plans are reviewed and approved by the Be Fire Safe project
manager, Larry Isenberg. Mr. Isenberg has over 38 years experience in forestry
and fire management in North Idaho and is well-known for his attention to detail
and care for the land he manages. All Be Fire Safe contractors carry the
required insurance. Once the plan has been approved by both Larry and the
homeowner—and a fair market price to do the work has been established— the
homeowner has three options for completing the work, as outlined below:
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Be Fire Safe contracts with one of the Be Fire Safe contractors
to do the work (Be Fire Safe pays them);
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The homeowner may hire their own contractor to do the work (Be
Fire Safe reimburses the homeowner for the approved amount);
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The homeowner does the work and is paid the approved amount.
Payment will be made after an on-site evaluation has been conducted
and Be Fire Safe assures the work has been completed as outlined in the plan.
With Support
From:
Idaho Department of Lands/Bureau
of Land Management/
USDA-US Forest Service/
State of Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security
A grant from the Idaho Department
of Lands in cooperation
with the USDA Forest Service has been provided.
Larry Isenberg, Project Manager,
208-772-6704
larryissi@dishmail.net
10019 Bobcat Trail, Box 3, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Website:
www.plrcd.org/NOFIRE/ (click on Benewah County)
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