Wildfire resilience grant
The Saratoga-based Santa Clara County FireSafe Council announced on Aug. 14 that it received a $185,000 grant for wildfire resilience projects near the Los Gatos Creek Watershed.
The grant was given to the council by San Jose Water for wildfire resilience efforts in the Call of the Wild and Chemeketa Park communities in Los Gatos. Cal Fire’s most recent Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps list these communities as areas with very high fire hazard severity. They border on San Jose Water’s critical water source areas in the Los Gatos Creek Watershed.
“This new funding is an expansion of our partnership with San Jose Water and the Wildland Urban Interface communities, which are in service areas that are challenged with ingress/egress considerations in Cal Fire-designated high and very high fire hazard severity zones,” said FireSafe Council CEO Seth Schalet.
The money will be used to buy and install five new N5 Sensors, AI enabled wildfire smoke detection systems, in the Call of the Wild neighborhood and for other resiliency projects in both neighborhoods. The grant will also fund the installation of improved roadway signage throughout the neighborhoods to help emergency vehicles, evacuees and large trucks navigate the roadways and the creation of a reusable banner series to educate residents about wildfire resilience.
New facilities
A new public restroom is coming Saratoga Village. The Exeloo public restroom has self-cleaning capabilities, automatic doors, touchless sensors and remote monitoring to enhance efficiency, cleanliness and safety for users. It will be located in parking district 3 behind Net Max Realty and The Bank on Big Basin Way.
“You push buttons to open, then it talks to you and cleans up after you leave,” said Jill Hunter in an update from the Saratoga Village Development Council.
A ribbon-cutting event for the restroom was originally scheduled for Aug. 25, but it has been postponed. A new date has not been confirmed.