2021 California Monument Fire - Engine crew battles flames
Credit: USDA

March 22, 2023 - Washington - Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) have announced that the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is investing nearly $97 million in 29 projects that will benefit and better protect California communities and tribes as part of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. The funds are made available thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which the senators voted to pass last Congress. 

“The risk that wildfires pose to the health of our communities and environment can’t be understated. The Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program created by the bipartisan infrastructure law is putting federal dollars on the ground to help state and local leaders address the wildfire crisis. From fire fuel reduction efforts and purchasing new equipment to making wildfire resilient retrofits to homes and more, the projects receiving this funding will benefit Californians all across the state,” said Senator Feinstein. 

“The threat of wildfires may not be on top of minds for many Californians right now, but the risk still exists and we must use this opportunity to mitigate risk and protect our communities before we head into peak season,” said Senator Padilla. “This first round of investments from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program will help California prepare for, mitigate, and protect against wildfires. Thanks to funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, our state is getting the critical resources it needs to continue to address the increasing threat of wildfires.” 

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant program helps communities, tribes, non-profit organizations and state forestry agencies plan for and mitigate wildfire risks as the western states face an ongoing wildfire crisis. Specifically, the grant program will help communities in the wildland urban interface maintain resilient landscapes, create fire-adapted communities and ensure safe, effective wildfire response. The following projects across California were selected to receive federal funding:

1. Briceland Volunteer Fire Department, Fire Hazard Reduction Project
   $205,251 to create a Fire Hazard Reduction Crew, to conduct roadside clearance and improve fuel breaks along otherwise unmaintained roads. Creating safer routes for emergency response, evacuation, and reducing the chance of roadside ignitions.
2. Butte County Fire Department, Butte County Fire Defensible Space Inspection Project
   $4,900,000 to implement a comprehensive year-round Defensible Space Inspection program that focuses on community outreach and voluntary compliance. Also providing a process to enforce local defensible space and vegetation management regulations for parcels that remain persistently non-compliant.
3. Butte County Fire Department, Butte County Fire Equipment Acquisition
   $1,500,000 to purchase excavator equipment for an 8,000 acre Hazardous Fuel Reduction project.
4. Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, Chicken Ranch Fuel Mitigation
   $315,599 to conduct fuels reduction within their Tribal and adjacent lands. Train Tribal personnel in Cultural and Traditional Fire Management through a partnership with Hoopa Valley Tribal Council. Completing this project allows for the Tribe to self-support regular and ongoing smaller-scale fuels reduction activities on their lands as a planned maintenance activity.
5. Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Coyote Valley Community Fire Defense Project
   $959,648 to restore and maintain landscapes making them resilient to fire related disturbances. Create a fire adapted community to withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property. To responsibly make and implement safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions. A fire mitigation specialist will be hired by the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians to lead and coordinate the project. Develop a tribal evacuation plan, conduct outreach, and education.
6. Del Norte Fire Safe Council, Del Norte Wildfire Resiliency Program
   $3,089,552 to create a Hazardous Fuels Reduction crew to perform defensible space work around residences and create shaded fuel breaks. This project will provide training, education, public outreach, and implement a county-wide prescribed burn association with landowners to create Firewise communities.
7. Feather River Resource Conservation District, Plumas Emergency Forest Restoration
   $8,543,433 to provide hazardous fuels reduction and tree planting for ecological restoration over the next five years on 5,000 acres of lands impacted by large fire.
8. Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County, Siskiyou County Home Assessment, Defensible Space and Education Project
   $9,997,998 to provide home assessment, defensible space work on approximately 500 homes, hazardous fuels reduction work on 300 acres and public education.
9. Humboldt County Resource Conservation District, Greater Willow Creek Wildfire Resilience Project
   $5,027,427 to implement a suite of area-wide outreach, education, and implementation actions as well as the implementation of nine priority fuels reduction projects encompassing 25 Community Wildfire Protection Plan priority sites.
10. Kern County Fire Department, Kern County Fire Prescribed Fire Project
    $2,225,207 to purchase firing equipment and two transport trailers to support the Kern County Fire Department Prescribed Fire Program. This equipment will be used to provide more efficient logistical support of setting up and performing prescribed burns.  
11. Kern County Fire Department, Prescribed Fire Training Project
    $513,533 to provide training and qualifying Kern County Fire Department prescribed fire cadre members. These personnel will be utilized to provide required planning, direction, oversight, and technical expertise when using prescribed fire around Kern County's high-risk communities.
12. Kern Fire Safe Council: Be Aware, Be Prepared: Defend Your Space!
    $540,210 to fund a project focused on bringing wildfire hazard reduction to the community and the homeowner. Funding will provide a project manager, outreach coordinator, HIZ assessors with training. Also, digital tools to implement and monitor the project along with data collection, fuels reduction, event expenses, supplies and mileage.
13. Nevada County, Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
    $250,000 to update the Nevada County Community Wildfire Protection Plan thereby providing a scientifically defensible and locally endorsed road map articulating the severity of the hazards that exist. The priority actions must be taken to mitigate the risk for all communities in Nevada County.
14. Nevada County Resource Conservation District, Prescribed Fire Training for Private Residential Landowners, Nevada County Wildland Urban Interface
    $392,542 to provide prescribed fire tools and training to private residents of Nevada County to increase the capacity to carry out prescribed fire treatments.
15. Mattole Restoration Council, Prosper Ridge Community Wildfire Resilience Project
    $2,175,132 to hazardous fuels treatment on 450 acres of land bordering the King Range National Conservation Area. Various treatment methods will be used from prescribed treatment, mechanical and hand thinning. 
16. Plumas County Fire Safe Council, Plumas County Hazardous Fuels Assessment and Implementation
    $6,835,975 to provide 2,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction and conduct an update of the county-wide Hazardous Fuels Assessment. Subsequently initiate implementation of the Assessments recommended as priority projects to reduce wildfire risk to the most vulnerable communities and landscapes. 
17. Resort Improvement District No.1, Shelter Cove Wildfire Resiliency & Community Defense Project
    $6,222,500 to provide outreach, coordination, and inspection services and to conduct 1,211 acres of hazardous fuels reduction work over a 5-year period. 
18. Resource Conservation District of Tehama County, Tehama East/Tehama West Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
    $102,040 to update the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the county over a two-year period, incorporating input from over 60 collaborators and the public. The Tehama East/Tehama West CWPP Update will support local entities efforts to reduce wildfire risk to communities and local resources.
19. Sierra County Firesafe & Watershed Council, Sierraville Fuels Reduction
    $2,114,437 to conduct mechanical treatments on a minimum of 500 acres to connect two landscape-scale fuels reduction and community protection projects adjacent to public lands.
20. Sierra County, Sierra County Community Wildfire Mitigation Leadership
    $203,550 to provide planning and project coordination for all of Sierra County.
21. Sierra County, Sierra County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
    $51,000 to update the Sierra County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
22. Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, Community Wildfire Protection Plan
    $250,000 to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for all Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Tribal properties. This plan will empower the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to execute several goals including: Restoring and maintaining landscapes, creating a conscious-minded and a fire adapted community. Also planning mitigation measures or actions to reduce wildfire risk, increase efficiency, and effectiveness for wildfire response.
23. Tuolumne County, Tuolumne County Community Wildfire Defense Project
    $10,000,000 to provide defensible space work on approximately 1,290 homes, roadside vegetation management on approximately 23-miles of road, and outreach to create additional Firewise Communities. Including other fire adaptive cohorts within at-risk and low-income communities.
24. Tuolumne Utilities District, Wildfire Defense Plan
    $249,927 to create Community Wildfire Protection Plan that will prioritize management actions for the Tuolumne Utilities District Raw Water Ditch. Including potable water systems for achieving maximum benefits of community wildfire protection and resilience. 
25. City of Ukiah, Ukiah Valley and Mendocino Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project
    $7,214,766 this Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project of 200 acres, will conduct 200 defensible space inspections, maintain seven current fuel breaks in shaded and non-shaded areas, perform 125 defensible space projects, and conduct prescribed burns in appropriate areas to restore fire adapted ecosystems. Also, conduct five project assessments to engage the relevant impacted communities to maximize project effectiveness. To increase community fire resiliency in the Ukiah Valley area and throughout Mendocino County over the next five years.
26. The Watershed Research and Training Center, Hyampom Community Protection Project
    $1,322,666 to implement 450 acres of hazardous fuel reduction treatments in strategic and critical private land locations including manual thinning and chipping, hand piling, pile burning, prescribed fire. 
27. The Watershed Research and Training Center, Middle-Trinity Community Protection Project
    $3,224,452 to implement 1,144 acres of hazardous fuels reduction treatments to reduce the risk of wildfire in and around Weaverville, Junction City, and Douglas City.
28. Yuba County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
    $210,646 to update the Yuba Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan through community engagement, stakeholder collaboration, and integration of new technologies. This area encompasses local, state, and federal lands near the Tahoe National Forest and Plumas National Forest. The plan is a long-term, large-scale strategic plan for the Yuba County Foothills. It leverages local collaboration to develop and prioritize wildfire prevention, preparedness, and resilience opportunities. While also supporting to protect local communities and watersheds.
29. Yurok Tribe, Yurok Fire Department, Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update
    $250,000 to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan that identifies critical at-risk communities on the Yurok Indian Reservation. Prioritizing places that are low income, have been impacted by a severe disaster, or have high or very high wildfire hazard potential. Also, protecting sensitive and sacred sites, assist in producing basketry materials, traditional foods, ceremonial regalia, and traditional medicines for the Yurok People. Finally, we recognize our river's health correlates to our human health, to all flora and fauna species health, and our main food source of salmon and sturgeon. Also, secondarily benefited by increasing water yields and improving our fish health, habitats, and their lifespans. 

This initial round of investments will assist communities in developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans, key roadmaps for addressing wildfire risks locally, as well as fund immediate actions to lower the risk of wildfire on non-federal land for communities where a Community Wildfire Protection Plan is already in place. 
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein