Getting Ahead of Disaster Season with Mitigation
May 18, 2022
It’s that time of year again when All Hands and Hearts braces for the upcoming hurricane season as we confront the implications of climate change. We have a 15+ year history of thoughtful reactions to catastrophic disasters by providing responses and long-term recovery to at-risk communities. While we are proud to continue to offer assistance, we are compelled to think about what else our volunteer-powered workforce could do to foster a sense of security. The answer came in the form of adding a resilience focus to our initiatives.
In both Louisiana and California, we are adding this focus through disaster preparedness efforts and mitigation work. In Louisiana, we are collaborating with local conservation partners engaging in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities, including fortifying the environment, oyster shell reclamation, restoring natural defenses, and providing education to communities on how to prepare homes to be more resilient in the next disaster.
Through the guidance of community leaders and the Butte FireSafe Council in California, our staff and volunteers are executing chainsaw work in Berry Creek. This allows us to accomplish tasks such as removing hazardous trees that may fall on structures or harm people, creating defensible space by removing fuels around areas where people plan to rebuild, piling up the organic debris to be removed by Butte Fire Safe and widening a section of road that provides critical wildfire evacuation routes to rural communities in the area.
We are also learning about home-hardening mitigation efforts suitable for our volunteer workforce to perform. These duties are in urgent need, as many homeowners cannot take on these tasks due to physical and/or financial limitations and lack of time. When several homes are hardened, it creates a fuel break for the entire community, buying critical time for firefighters to increase containment. Embers getting into the house through vents are the number one risk to homes, so these mitigation efforts can improve the odds of salvaging property, buy time for firefighters, and can ultimately protect the community. With that, AHAH will also provide education and DIY information to these communities to help in this life-saving mission.
All Hands and Hearts will provide a long-term presence in both states that relentlessly cope with these disasters year after year, hoping that they will be more resilient. We couldn’t do it without the help and guidance of local conservation groups and community leaders guiding our way. It takes a village, and we look forward to sharing in-depth stories and examples of the difference we will make in the future.
