Whitethorn Fire Safe Council

08/10/2026

Ready, Set, Go! Is a wildfire evacuation framework. What a "Set" (Evacuation Warning) Means
Potential Threat: A hazard or wildfire is approaching or behaving dangerously nearby.
Who Should Leave Now: People who need extra time (such as children, older adults, or individuals with medical needs) and those moving pets or livestock.

https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/pdf/rsg-eag.pdf?sfvrsn=d1316f0c_24 Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services

08/06/2026

🔥 HEY WHITETHORN 🔥

⏳There's still time to participate in the public survey for the Humboldt County Community Wildfire Protection Plan: https://arcg.is/0PmizT4 (Closes September 30)

📍As well as the Wildfire Concerns Mapping Survey: https://arcg.is/1iHKr41 (Also closes September 30)

👀And, if you missed the Town Hall meeting on June 16th, you can watch it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEn7C-rlWOU

📩You can also sign up for the Humboldt County Fire Safe Council Email List! https://humboldtgov.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5b7085d3d2220e3bd55afbbad&id=517ec29d33

⁉ What is the Humboldt County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, you ask?

The CWPP is intended to inspire and guide actions and leverage support for projects that will help communities and landscapes in Humboldt County become more resilient to wildfire.

The plan is being updated to:

🔥Celebrate accomplishments from the past 6+ years
🔥Reflect current wildfire hazards and risks
🔥Present the most up-to-date recommendations for how to prepare Humboldt County communities for wildfire.

Can you help us by sharing your experiences and concerns? 🙏

08/04/2026

This map isn't a prediction. It's today's reality.

California remains one of the hardest-hit states when it comes to wildfire, and this map shows the growing impact across the western United States. This isn't an isolated event or a distant problem. It's real and it demands preparation, vigilance, and a shared responsibility. These fires affect communities, ecosystems, infrastructure, and lives.

What are we willing to lose?

The better question is: What are we willing to do—together—to protect what matters most?

Wildfire resilience begins with all of us. As wildfire risk continues to increase, so must our commitment to prevention and preparedness. Every responsible action taken to reduce fire risk helps
strengthen the safety of the entire community.

Be proactive:
• Reduce fire hazards around your home and property.
• Have an evacuation plan and emergency kit ready.
• Stay informed about local fire conditions and alerts.
• Follow fire restrictions and practice wildfire prevention every day.
• Become a part of your local Fire Safe Council or Firewise Community.

Learn more on how you can prevent and prepare for wildfire at www.ReadyForWildfire.org.

08/03/2026

07/31/2026

🔥 It only takes one spark. 🔥

Today around 11:00 a.m. on Briceland Road, what could have become a significant wildfire was stopped before it had the chance to spread.

A visitor heading to the Lost Coast had their trailer come off the hitch. As it hit the roadway, sparks ignited the dry grass along the shoulder. Fortunately, the driver noticed the trailer had fallen after seeing smoke in the rearview mirror and immediately stopped.

Several local Good Samaritans pulled over with jugs of water and helped extinguish the fire before it could spread.

As Aurora Studebaker with the Briceland Volunteer Fire Station was heading out of town, she saw the incident, called it in, and additional resources were dispatched. Redway Fire and CAL FIRE responded to assist, while a Whitethorn Fire Protection District board member helped slow and direct traffic until emergency crews had the scene secured.

We are so lucky to live in a community where people care and take action. Today is a perfect example of neighbors helping neighbors and everyone working together to protect our beautiful community.

As we move through peak fire season, please remember:
💧 Travel with extra water.
🧯 Carry a fire extinguisher and know how to use it.
⛓️ Never allow trailer chains to drag.
🚚 Double-check that your trailer is properly hitched before every trip.
🚭 Never throw any lit substance from your vehicle.

It only takes one spark to start a wildfire, but today, thanks to quick-thinking community members and our local first responders, that spark didn't become something much worse.

Thank you to everyone who stopped to help and to all of our firefighters for your continued dedication to keeping Southern Humboldt safe. ❤️🚒

07/29/2026

Some of our community had a little scare last week when a small fire started in the Whitethorn valley. Thankfully, there were no injuries and our local fire department as well as a lot of mutual aid fire departments & CalFire were on it very quickly and it was contained at just over 3 acres.

This fire was really the best-case scenario, and our community can take this fire as a learning opportunity! The Whitethorn Fire Safe Council held a special meeting this evening to talk about lessons learned.

Some things we shared, and that you can reflect on as well:

Did you hear about the fire when it was happening? What did you do? Were you home? What would have happened if it had gotten close to your neighborhood or even your home? Do you have a Go Bag ready? Do you know where your pet carriers and birth certificates are? Do you have defensible space around your home?

Some questions to ask yourself:

What was your biggest aha moment thinking back? Anything that surprised you about how you personally responded?

What are 1-2 simple actions you're committing to for your own fire or emergency preparedness?

What's one thing that went well that we should keep doing?

What are some simple ideas we could implement as a Fire Safe Council and/or NEST leader?

There are 6 important things you can do to prepare before the next fire:

1. Watch Duty

Get the free Watch Duty app on your phone or other device, or bookmark their website: www.watchduty.org. This app is helpful for up-to-date fire locations, size, evacuation information, etc.

2. Sign up for Humboldt Alert

Make sure that you will receive an evacuation alert for your address: https://humboldtgov.org/2014/Emergency-Notifications

3. Know Your Zone

Find out what Emergency Zone you are in: https://humboldtgov.org/3219/Evacuation-Mapping

These are the zones used in Evacuation Warnings. Zones in the Whitethorn area include HUM E207, HUM E208, HUM E214, HUM E215, HUM W216.

4. Prepare a Go Bag

Everything you need to evacuate should be in one easy to reach location:

Examples of what you might want to include:
🔥copies of ID & insurance cards
🔥cash
🔥contact list
🔥local maps
🔥medicine & medical info
🔥phone charger & backup battery
🔥flashlight
🔥first aid kit
🔥food & water
🔥pet carrier & supplies

5. Practice!

You don't need to run a full drill - but you can! At the very least, envision a scenario and step by step, what actions you would take. Talk about it with your family, your neighbors, and your friends. Thinking through a scenario and even walking through it can help create muscle memory - something you may need to rely on in an emergency and we start to panic.

6. Contact your NEST leader!

Whitethorn has 13 NESTS - neighborhood groups with a leader. NEST stands for Neighborhood Emergency Support Team. In an emergency, NEST leaders will try their best to contact their NEST folks to convey important information and check in to see if you need help. The Whitethorn NESTS are:

🔥Airport NEST
🔥Bridge Creek NEST
🔥Gibson Creek NEST
🔥Harris Creek NEST
🔥Huckleberry Ln NEST
🔥Whitethorn Junction NEST
🔥Moonlight Meadows NEST
🔥Nooning Creek NEST
🔥Post Office NEST
🔥School NEST
🔥Shafer NEST
🔥Stump Ln NEST
🔥Whitethorn Construction NEST

If you don't know who your NEST leader is, please DM us!

07/08/2026

If you've driven through Whitethorn lately, you've no doubt noticed the active tree work happening! This is a grant-funded fuels reduction/evacuation route improvement project being conducted by our subcontractor, Family Tree. They are removing invasive pine trees, many of which are dying and become a fire hazard. Thank you to PG&E for funding this grant! 🔥