Created in 2001 through an initiative by CAL FIRE, local fire agencies came together with a small group of community members to discuss wildfire risks and protection for communities in Santa Clara County. Today, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCFSC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded by federal grants, contributions and your donations. Our programs protect thousands of residents and homes and bring together individuals, public and private agencies and companies that share a common, vested interest in preventing and reducing losses from wildfires. Our programs and projects are focused on protecting the 14 Communities at Risk for wildfire in Santa Clara County: Cupertino, East Foothills, Gilroy, Lexington Hills, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto, San Jose, San Martin, Saratoga and Stanford. These communities are at risk of wildfires because they have expansive accumulations of natural fuels. In response to this threat, we work to create a "Fire Safe" Santa Clara County -- protecting lives, homes and the environment, through the reduction of built-up hazardous fire-prone vegetation and the creation of informed communities with respect to Defensible Space, general fire safety, and fire's effect and role in our environment.