The wildfires raging in the western states should serve as a wakeup call to all of us in Pickens County.
In 1997 my wife and I began to search for property in the north Georgia mountains. Our search for the perfect spot ended in Pickens County. Monument Road offered fantastic views, a beautiful hardwood forest, streams and a 4-season weather pattern.
In 2002 we sold our home of 20 years in Duluth and moved to our new home. Recognizing our remoteness, in 2006 a group of neighbors worked together to forge a plan to address the unique needs of our mountain community. What came from those discussions was a volunteer organization known as the Wildcat Community – made up of those communities that comprise our mountains. In 2009, with the support of the community and the county, we opened our all-volunteer fire station. Today, the Wildcat Community is made up of 10 communities: Bent Tree, Big Canoe, Burnt Mountain Estates, Monument Falls, Sassafras Mountain Estates, Tate Mountain Estates, Tomahawk, Wintermont, Windsong, and Independents.
The cornerstone of the Wildcat Community is the nationally recognized program known as Firewise USA. Firewise USA is a voluntary program that provides the framework to help neighbors get organized, find direction, and take action to decrease the risk of wildfire to their homes and community. The Wildcat Community is certified Firewise, and as such each member community supports and promotes Firewise initiatives. Those initiatives include understanding wildfire threats, preparing homes for the risk of wildfire, removing deadfall, establishing a defensible space, etc.
Why is this important for you? As the leaves fall and humidity drops, we are entering the time of the year when the risk of wildfire reaches its peak. With fall winds and dry conditions, all of us (long time and especially new residents, who may not understand the risk), need to be mindful of our individual responsibility to take steps to minimize the risk to ourselves and our neighbors. We should also become educated about steps each of us needs to take to make our homes Firewise and be prudent and extremely careful with fireplace ashes and outside fires. Factors that affect the spread of wildfire include humidity, ground fuel (leaves, branches, limbs, etc.), wind and slope. In addition, mountains provide the watershed for our community. If that watershed is destroyed by wildfire, our entire community will suffer.
Look for my next article covering specific steps each of us can take to help keep our community safe from wildfire. For more information on Firewise please visit the Wildcat Community website: www.wildcatcommunityga.org.
Clayton Preble
President, Wildcat Community
