Woodside, California
Woodside, CA, is proactive in its fire protection efforts, given its location in a mountainous, wildfire-prone area on the San Francisco Peninsula. The Woodside Fire Protection District (WFPD) promotes fire safety measures such as maintaining defensible space around properties and using fire-resistant landscaping in Woodside and nearby Portola Valley (pop. 4,289). The WFPD also conducts annual inspections, supports emergency preparedness drills, and works on improving infrastructure for fire response, such as ensuring accessible roads and adequate water supply for firefighting.
CPAW partnered with WFPD in 2021 to analyze the fire district’s current practices, funding, challenges, and opportunities to improve internal operations, communications, partnerships, land use planning, and assessment tools. CPAW staff were consulted as Woodside updated its General Plan. CPAW also helped with testimony at town council meetings regarding landscape codes and fire ordinances.
In 2022 CPAW granted WFPD $25,000 to purchase home inspection software, hire more inspectors, and support a new neighborhood-level pilot program to determine neighborhood needs and the best way to reduce fire risk in the community. The grant helped WFPD build community support for climate resilience as more inspectors conducted more home and property wildfire-mitigation inspections and interacted directly with more residents.
Snapshot
- 2021 CPAW Community
- Population: 5,131
- Growth Rate: 0.4% (2010-2022)
- Fuel Type: Timber-shrub-grass