Fire Safe Council
About Us
​OAK TO TIMBERLINE IS YOUR LOCAL
FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
Oak to Timberline Fire Safe Council (OTFSC) serves a diverse region ranging from 500' to 6500' elevation. From the grasslands, through the brush and oak of the foothills, and all the way to the timberlands of the Giant Sequoias, the Council's service area encompass nearly 217,000 acres of public and private lands.
Within it are State and Federal lands, private homes, ranches, schools, churches, youth camps, businesses, and wildlife refuges, and the communities of Piedra, Tivy Valley, Wonder Valley, Yokuts Valley, formally known as Squaw Valley, Dunlap, Miramonte, Pinehurst, Badger, Eshom Valley, Hartland, and Sequoia to Hume Lakes. Its territory lies within the Kings and Kaweah River watersheds, which offer an array of wildlife habitats and recreational activities, as well as being a vacation destination for visitors from all over the world.
Our Story
Oak to Timberline Fire Safe Council is a community based, non-profit organization. The Council is prepared to fulfill its mission to “promote fire safety by providing information, education, support incentives, and projects that encourage fire safety in our communities east of the Friant-Kern Canal and south of the Kings River, from “Oak to Timberline."
Meet The Team
Tina Rolfsema
Chairperson
After retiring as a teacher and psychiatric technician, I moved to our house in Pinehurst full time in 2011. I started working seasonally in Kings Canyon National Park afterwards, most recently as a park ranger. I joined the Board of OTFSC about 1.5 years ago, and am proud to belong to such an amazing group of volunteers who work very hard to make our mountain communities more resilient to wildfire.
Thomas (Jackie) Harper
Co-Project Manager
I have lived in Pinehurst off and on since 1981(full time since 1989). I have a background in construction, was a business owner (Pinehurst Lodge 1989-2006), domestic water systems 2000-2018, and property management 2006-2018. Currently, project manager for Oak to Timberline Fire Safe Council 2018- present.
Julie Harcos
Secretary
We bought property in Miramonte in 2000. Dotty Woolum/Pat Cassen were encouraging friends to move here and since Jack, my husband was raised in the Central Valley, he/we jumped on the idea. We moved from the Bay Area where I taught for 20 years and wrote art grants for the district.
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Because of our interest in art we decided to run an artist residency and did that for 15 years. During our time here we have jointly acted as President of the Central Sierra Chamber of Commerce, served in fire lookouts for the Buck Rock Foundation for 12 years, and I have been Secretary for the Oak to Timberline Fire Safe Council for 7 years. I feel volunteerism is important, especially here where the danger of fire is so great and every one who lives here has a stake in mitigating, preventing, and learning steps to help minimize the fire hazard.
Dorothy (Dotty) Woolum
Grants Coordinator
I spent my professional life as a University Physics Professor, teaching physics and doing research in the areas of fundamental physics, astrophysics and planetary science. I received 49 years of federal research grant funding from NASA and since 2015 have been writing grants for OTFSC to obtain funds for OTFSC’s fire prevention and fuels reduction projects. I am also a past President of the Central Sierra Chamber of Commerce (CSCC).
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My husband, Pat Cassen, and I are lifelong backpackers; we moved to Miramonte in 2000, where we raise fruits and vegetables, care for our horses, cats and chickens, and do what we can in support of the local CSCC and SCC community centers.
Jack Huneke
Member at Large
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Nancy Hawkins
Historian
Nancy Hawkins is a retired Ventura County educator who moved to Miramonte in 2019. She is a volunteer fire tower Lookout and is on the Board of the Sequoia Community Center. She is an avid hiker and snowshoer.
Tom Kramer
Member at Large
I grew up in North Fork, a lumber mill town at that time, located north of the San Joaquin River. Post high school, I worked for the U.S. Forest Service for many summers as a seasonal firefighter, tank truck operator, assistant foreman, patrolman, and back country ranger. Back when fires were mostly seasonal. All of those summers were in the Sierra National Forest.
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I also worked as a newspaper reporter, did public relations at UCLA, and taught journalism and photojournalism at Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley. After retiring, I moved to Miramonte to mow weeds and join the Fire Safe Council.
John Luvalle
Treasurer
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Daniel Himes
Co-Project Manager
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Morgan Morris
PIO
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Mike Hand
Member at Large
Our Partners
