Wildfire safety town hall set in Sun City

Twenty years ago my husband and I visited Sun City Texas. Needless to say, it was love at first sight. We found a planned community of well-constructed homes surrounded by beautiful wooded areas, well-designed parks, golf courses and recreation areas. Fast forward 20 years and we still have the same lovely community with a very different concern top of mind, the threat of wildfire.

Texas A&M Forest Service reports that between December 9, 2021, and August 29, 2022, there have been 1,725 wildfires burning nearly 600,000 acres in Texas, more than in the same time frame during any of the last five years.

Data from the Georgetown Fire Department show it responded to 209 fires in the first seven months of this year, including 87 fires in July.

Sun City is fortunate to have a Firewise Committee is available to help homeowners identify potential fire hazards around their homes and help them establish a defensible zone around their homes.

However, the real risk for many Sun City homeowners is the common areas adjacent to their property. Many of these common areas contain tall, stately hardwood trees, but the clusters of Western Red Cedar throughout the common areas are known to be quite flammable along with tall grass, dense brush and small bushes which are a threat to the defensible zones around our homes.

On Tuesday, 9 a.m., October 4, the community association is holding a town halI in the Sun City Ballroom on Firewise issues. I encourage Sun City residents to attend this meeting to learn more about this issue and about how we can work with our community association, Pulte and our very capable Georgetown Fire Department to reduce wildfire risk in our community.

CHRISTINE VITERA

Sunflower Street