Communities and Neighborhoods Work Together As people move into
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the problem of fire safety
is magnified. With more lives and property at risk, fire
protection and emergency responders need to reach the location
of an event quickly, and need to control a fire as soon as
possible. Residents living in our forested landscape can work in
neighborhood groups or as a whole community to plan and
implement fire safety measures. The Sierra Nevada has had the
third fastest growing population of any California region since
1990. After tripling to 664,000 between 1970 and 1998, the
region's population is projected to surpass one million by 2020.
— "Sierra Nevada Wealth Index", Sierra Business Council (2000)
Current estimates show that between 1990 and 2040, the
population of the Sierra Nevada will triple to the size of San
Diego (somewhere between 1.5 million and 2.4 million residents).
— Sierra Nevada Alliance (2005) The purpose of community fire
planning is to . . .