The Tait Lake Association was recognized at the June 13 Cook County Coalition of Lake Associations (CCCoLA) meeting for its work to create a safer community. (L-R) Cook County Firewise Coordinator John Saxhaug; County Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk; Tait Lake Association Board Member and Environmental Awareness/Firewise Committee Chair Peter Barsness; Friends of Tait Lake Representative and CCCoLA Treasurer Gary J. Maciejewski.
The Tait Lake Association community has been recognized as a Firewise Communities/USA site by the national Firewise Communities program for its efforts to reduce the vulnerability of homes and landscapes to wildfire.
The award was presented during a Cook County Coalition of Lake Associations (CCCoLA) meeting at the Cook County courthouse in Grand Marais on June 13, 2014 presided over by Chairperson Linda Hendrickson.
The Tait Lake Association is the first Cook County Lake Association to be designated a Firewise Community. It is hoped that more Lake Associations will follow the lead of the Tait Lake Association in becoming Firewise Communities. There were 17 people in attendance at this CCCoLA meeting.
Firewise Communities/USA (FC/USA) is a nationwide program that recognizes communities for taking action to protect people and properties from the dangers of fire in the wildland/urban interface.
The FC/USA program is of special interest to small communities and lake/neighborhood associations that are willing to mitigate against wildland fire by adopting and implementing programs tailored to their needs. Communities create these programs themselves with cooperative assistance from state forestry agencies and local fire staff. The FC/USA program is a component of the national Firewise Communities program.
More information about FC/USA can be obtained from John Saxhaug, the new Firewise Coordinator for Cook County, at (612) 418-4328 or Lorraine Carli from the NFPA Firewise Communities media relations team at (617) 984-7275.
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