Welcome to the Firewise Page of the GACC's Wildfire Preparedness Committee
This page is intended for the roughly 1,200 Avenues residences that are located within the Salt Lake Fire Department's GACC Firewise Candidate Community. These homes are especially vulnerable to the threats and risks of wildfire due to their proximity to the fire-prone “Wildland Urban Interface” (WUI - see graphic) .It is important for residents in this area to understand how wildfire can threaten their homes and safety and how they can lessen the possibility of damage and risk by taking steps to protect their homes. If each of us does our part to reduce risk, we can collectively create a safer, more resilient neighborhood.
How to tell if your home is in the Firewise Candidate Community? Enter your address in the map at the Salt Lake City Community Wildfire Preparedness Day web-page at Community Wildfire Preparedness This web-page also has a large number of resources for all residents of the Avenues but the emphasis is on homes within the GACC Firewise Candidate Community.
So, what exactly is Firewise? Firewise is a number of things and it is associated with a number of other things. The term “Firewise” is also used in association with things that aren’t technically “Firewise.” This is likely why it isn’t always clear what is being referred to when we use the term “Firewise.”
Firewise USA® is a national program administered by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA – known for creating international codes and standards) and co-sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters.
The Firewise USA® program helps communities create a framework for action, learn about wildfire and wildfire mitigation, gain peace of mind, build community and citizen pride, increase publicity, increase access to funding and assistance and provides insurance discounts for USAA members living in certified Firewise communities.
Here is a link to a Firewise web-page with information for individual homeowners: https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire
While not officially the GACC “Firewise Day,” the first Saturday in May of every year is National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (May 6 in 2023): https://www.nfpa.org/Events/Events/National-Wildfire-Community-Preparedness-Day
In conjunction with the National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, Salt Lake City Fire Department, several Salt Lake City Service Divisions and the Utah Department of Natural Resources conduct a fuels collection day for home-owners living within the boundaries of the GACC Firewise Candidate Community.
So why do we keep using the term Firewise Candidate Community? To be brief, it is because the designation as a “Firewise Community” must be earned. The transition from being a “Firewise Candidate Community” to being a certified “Firewise Community” requires community involvement (that means you). Specifically, each Firewise Community has to have a mitigation plan (the GACC area has a plan that has been developed and submitted to NFPA by the SLCFD) AND, annually each community has to record an average of at least one hour of fuels mitigation or related work for every home within the Firewise Candidate Community boundaries (roughly 1150 homes in the GACC Candidate Community). A record of those hours is created when you sign up for fuels collection on the SLCFD “Greater Avenues Firewise Community Preparedness Day” web-page.
The GACC Firewise Candidate Community has yet reach the Firewise standard in any year of a minimum of one hour recorded per home within the candidate community.
For more information on GACC Firewise efforts and how to record the time you’ve contributed to fuels mitigation, go to this link: https://www.slc.gov/fire/community-wildfire-preparedness-day/
If you would like an individual consultation on how best to improve your home’s chances of surviving a wildland fire event, please e-mail the Salt Lake City Fire Department at to request a free wildland fire home assessment. Or more information, contact your Greater Avenues Firewise Community Liaison, Shane Carlson, at (801) 596-3939 or .