Volunteer coalition wants to make area safer
Boerne High School students are teaming up this week with the Hill Country Fire Coalition of Texas to reduce a wildfire risk around the Kendall County home of an Army veteran’s widow.
The coalition received a Wildfire Community Preparedness Day grant from the National Fire Protection Association for the second consecutive year to support its efforts, officials said.
Organized in 2024, the coalition is a nonprofit made up of volunteers working to reduce damages from out-of-control conflagrations through a Kendall County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
“Our 2026 effort focuses on launching a new Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Program to assist residents with demonstrated need, who are ineligible for state and federal funding,” said coalition Director Christie Wiley. “While we can complete unlimited property- risk assessments, risk only changes when mitigation work is done.”
Wiley said the agency has designated May 13 as its workday to coincide with the high school’s Community Service Day.
Coalition members will partner with pupils and volunteers from the Bergheim area — the Buckers — to help the veteran’s widowed spouse clear debris and eliminate wildfire risk in “the immediate zone.” That zone, which includes the structure and a 5-foot radius, is the most vulnerable to embers, volunteers said. “This project reflects what we strive for every day: Neighbors helping neighbors, one property at a time, one community at a time,” said Wiley, who expects about 30 Boerne High students to participate.
Preparedness Day grant money that is left over will be used to launch the coalition’s Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant program to “bridge the gap between completing the risk assessment and implementing risk-reduction work on the ground,” Wiley said.
Organizers said volunteers on Wednesday as needed will clean the roof and gutters, replace or repair loose or damaged shingles, install 1/8-inch metal mesh screening on vents in the eaves, clean debris from exterior attic vents, take care of damaged or loose window screens and any broken windows, and move anything that can burn away from exterior walls.
To learn more about the coalition or the workday, call 830-326-9031 or email [email protected]. “This project reflects what we strive for every day.”
–– Christie Wiley
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