Brady PieperThe California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE) selected 94 projects to receive $90.8 million to address wildfire prevention initiatives across the state.
Projects selected in this round of funding are set to receive grants up to $3 million, with a significant portion directed toward low-income and disadvantaged communities. To be awarded by the California Climate Investments program (CCI), funds will be delivered to federal, state and local public entities, tribal governments, conservation corps, Fire Prevention councils and nonprofits working toward natural disaster prevention measures. Grant work on these projects are set to be completed by 2030.
Over the past five years, CAL FIRE has distributed more than $450 million through CCI’s Wildfire Prevention Grants Program, funding over 450 projects that seek to mitigate wildfire risks across the state. The program also supports the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, an 84-page master agenda of how the state will mitigate wildfires and support local communities’ disaster resilience. The plan outlines the state’s mission to develop wildland pre-fire engineering, vegetation management, fire planning, education and law enforcement initiatives.
“In addition to huge investments in personnel, equipment and technology, proactively building community resilience to wildfires is another key part of California’s strategy to reduce the impact of catastrophic wildfires,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press release. “These investments support local fuel reduction, forest health and other projects that build natural resilience and protect lives and property in at-risk communities from the intensifying impacts of climate change.”
The year 2020 was a disastrous, record-breaking year of wildfires for California, with five of the seven largest fires in state history burning over 4 million acres of wildlands in total. This year has also been busy for CAL FIRE and fire prevention officials. Through August, the department has documented over 5,300 fires covering over 800,000 acres of wildlands. This amount well-surpasses the five-year average of 5,200 fires and 500,000 acres and has sparked action from the state.
The 94 projects funded by this round of grants will address wildfire prevention in several ways: Removing or trimming of hazards, trees and foliage; extracting dangerous fuels; forest thinning; developing evacuation routes; public education and pursuing defensible infrastructure.
San Luis Obispo County has over 19 projects working concurrently – the most of any county – and will receive $3.2 million in grants. Projects include prescribed grazing in areas with hazardous vegetation, shaded fuel breaks and roadside clearance, forest thinning and controlled burns in nine wildland urban interface communities. The City of San Luis Obispo Fire Department will also receive funds to purchase chippers to improve the efficiency of roadside clearing efforts.
The City of Fresno is set to receive the largest grant of $3 million to remove 12,000 dead or dying trees and 50,000 cubic yards of ground fuels, and to improve protection for at least 1,000 habitable structures. Funds will also go to educating the local community on wildfire preparedness.
The Lassen Fire Safety Council of Lassen County is set to receive just under $6 million for two projects. One project will address the footprint left by 2021’s Dixie Wildfire by trimming trees and brush along 29 miles of roads bordering the Lassen National Forest System. The second project will reduce fuel loads along roads deemed hazardous and trim trees with 150 feet of 3,520 of the county’s habitable structures.
Other large projects include:
- $1.8 million to Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District for three shaded fuel breaks along 13 miles of ridgelines and crews to masticate hazardous sections of forest.
- Napa Communities Firewise Foundation, in Napa County, to receive $1.1 million for mastication, fuel reduction, reflective address signs, five Beacon Box locations and community outreach.
- $1.9 million to Bear Valley Community Services District, in Kern County, for hiring a professional logging company to masticate nearby forests and to remove woody biomass from hazardous areas while protecting Native American archeological heritage sites in the community.
For a full list of awards and project descriptions, see CCI’s Fire Prevention Grant Recipient List.
Photo by Bob Dass
