TRUCKEE, Calif. — With wildfire season approaching, residents are invited to a new, community-led fire readiness event designed to empower locals with practical knowledge and tools for wildfire safety.

The Truckee Fire Resilience Event will take place Wednesday, July 9, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Steve Randall Community Recreation Center, 10981 Truckee Way. Free and open to the public, the event will feature local experts, vendor exhibits, live demonstrations, fire safety information, food trucks, and family-friendly activities focused on emergency preparedness.

Jason Hajduk-Dorworth, one of the event’s featured speakers, said the goal is to move beyond a top-down regulatory approach and instead encourage community-wide engagement.

“This is less the formal, ‘you shall’ regulatory type of event than it is sharing information, sharing best practices, and really kind of collecting all the different people in the community,” said Hajduk-Dorworth, who recently retired as Eastern Firewise & Resiliency Coordinator. He is also the former fire chief of the City of Santa Cruz and now serves as Director of Administrative Services at Tahoe Donner.

Hajduk-Dorworth emphasized that wildfire is a shared concern—impacting homeowners, visitors, agencies, and emergency responders alike—and that effective preparedness requires layered, ongoing efforts.

“Wildfire is a combination of so many different things,” he said. “You have to have the right ingredients at the right time and the right amount to have that positive outcome.”

He will speak on Tahoe Donner’s community-driven wildfire insurance product, which he describes as an early but important step toward addressing growing wildfire risk in the region.

Organizers hope the grassroots event becomes a platform for residents to exchange ideas, share feedback, and connect with available resources. With activities tailored for all ages—from children to longtime homeowners—the event aims to foster a culture of preparedness.

“We really want people to show up and be present,” Hajduk-Dorworth said. “Wildfire is part of our community, and we want the community to show up so that they can make their lives better.”