SAN MARCOS — Community-led fire safety organizations in North County are continuing to promote wildfire safety and preparedness for residents in areas with high fire risk with the help of local grants.
Fire Safe councils, or FSCs, are formed by local residents and focus on educating neighborhoods about wildfire preparedness, resilience and prevention, as well as assisting property owners in removing and disposing of flammable brush and vegetative debris and in fire-hardening their homes.
There are over 50 FSCs in San Diego County, the most of any region in the United States, according to the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation.
Last month, the foundation awarded a total of $276,000 in Project SAFE grants to 30 local FSCs. These included several FSCs representing areas of North County like Del Mar, Escondido, San Elijo Hills, Fallbrook, Olivenhain, Palomar Mountain, and Poway.
Funds are used for projects that will increase defensible space (the buffer zone separating a residence from the wildland area), remove fuel loads, and promote community preparedness and fire safety.
“Building wildfire resilience requires strong local partnerships, and Fire Safe Councils are at the forefront of that effort,” said Brian D’Agostino, Vice President of Wildfire and Climate Science for San Diego Gas & Electric, which is among the donors supporting the grant. “Their deep understanding of local risks and ability to bring neighbors together help drive meaningful, on-the-ground solutions.”
The San Elijo Hills FSC is a nonprofit that serves a large portion of southern San Marcos, from Double Peak to Rancho Santa Fe. The entire area falls into the very high fire hazard severity zone, as identified in updated state fire severity maps. 
Using the Project SAFE grant as well as a separate $10,000 grant from the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation earlier this year, the San Elijo Hills FSC has been helping residents replace wooden fences around their homes with fire-resistant steel fencing and remove vegetation from around their homes.
“The zip code around San Elijo has one of the highest amounts of homes in the wildland-urban interface zone,” San Elijo Hills FSC President Lindsey Smith said. “We want to specifically target those perimeter homes where the wildfire history shows the wildfires are more likely to start.”
The San Elijo Hills FSC formed in early 2025, around the time of the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. Smith said many residents are eager to prepare their homes and plan for wildfires, especially after having to evacuate during the 2014 Cocos Fire.
A big focus for FSCs is defensible space, which is divided into three zones, each with its own requirements for clearing vegetation and structures. Zone Zero is within zero to five feet of a house, and is the most restrictive in terms of allowed vegetation and structures
While enforcement of zones 1 and 2 is in effect, the state has deferred enforcement of Zone Zero for two more years, due to the costs and effort associated with removal of brush and other structures, such as wood fences.
However, Smith and others don’t want to wait to start addressing Zone Zero.
As the president of the San Elijo Homeowners Association in addition to the FSC, Smith, who is also running for San Marcos City Council, said she has taken what she learned to also update HOA regulations so they include the most recent fire safety recommendations, including Zone Zero guidelines.
“It’s been a really good marriage of the two,” she said of her president roles for both the FSC and the HOA. “That has been the biggest push, using the HOA framework to try to push some of the regulations that the state hasn’t been able to push through.”
The Fallbrook FSC has used its $15,000 grant for three major projects — community chipping events, reflective address signage, and fire safety presentations. The chipping events allow residents to bring vegetation cuttings to a centralized location, where they are chipped and turned into mulch by waste hauler EDCO.
Ken Derry, Fallbrook FSC treasurer, said they host chipping events about five times per year. Most of the grant funds will go toward these events.
“It’s basically for people to clear off the areas around their homes to create defensible space,” Derry said. “It’s been a very, very successful event throughout the four years we’ve been doing it.”
The reflective signs make it easier for first responders to find homes in the rural Fallbrook area, Derry said. The grant will subsidize the difference between the $25 cost for residents and the approximately $45 cost for the FSC to order and ship them.
Derry said they give educational presentations to local HOAs and other groups, covering fire safety, items residents should have ready if they need to evacuate, and evacuation routes.
“There’s not a lot of egress routes to get out of Fallbrook,” Derry said.
Some Fire Safe Councils are also trying to assist residents with insurance, as some homeowners’ insurance providers have refused to renew policies or withdrawn from the market entirely in higher-risk fire zones throughout the state.
Some residents have had to seek fire-only coverage through the state’s FAIR Plan, which can be a safety net for homeowners in high-risk zones but has much higher premiums and less comprehensive coverage.
There are ways for residents to obtain insurance discounts, although the amounts can vary drastically. Smaller neighborhoods can obtain a designation as a Firewise community through the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA Program by creating a wildfire risk assessment and action plan.
Property owners can also obtain a designation as a Wildfire Prepared Home through the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.
Derry said the Fallbrook FSC would like to use future grant funds to share more resources about homeowners insurance for residents.
“In the Fallbrook area, a lot of people are getting canceled by the insurance companies,” Derry said. “Those questions come up all the time.”
Smith said the San Elijo FSC has held community events with the county’s Department of Insurance to help address the concerns for residents, and will be holding another one in September.
