The Sonoma County Wildfire Adapted program (also known as SoCo Adapts) was born out of a necessity to combat the recent rise of wildfires that have been devastating to the residents of Sonoma County. SoCo Adapts helps residents in high-risk areas understand how to create a defensible space and harden their homes. The Permit Sonoma team reached out to Civic Edge for help encouraging residents in high fire risk areas of Sonoma County to sign up for free fire safety evaluations and potential rebates for home fire safety improvements.
In 2023, Civic Edge worked closely with the Permit Sonoma team to develop an outreach plan tailored to their needs. While Permit Sonoma was offering a valuable service to residents in the project area - a wildfire risk assessment which can cost hundreds of dollars - residents were not likely to see messaging on Permit Sonoma’s website or social media channels. There was concern that a mailer on its own would get lost in the shuffle and would do little to counteract misconceptions that an evaluation arranged through the County would result in requirements to make improvements - or worse, impact private fire insurance policies.
To achieve our goal of one-on-one conversations with residents, the Civic Edge team conducted door-to-door outreach to inform homeowners in the project area about the resources available to them, leaving behind high visibility door hangers. Outreach was followed by a detailed mailer to serve as a reminder of the resources being offered by the County and how to access them. Civic Edge also provided recommendations for website improvements, social media posts, and other ways for those living in Sonoma to learn more about the program or participate.
High-risk wildfire counties in Sonoma can be extremely hard to reach and many homes have long driveways. The Civic Edge team tackled these challenges, going above and beyond to make sure residents were aware of the program and the accompanying benefits.