$4 M Award For Ebbetts Pass Corridor, Butte Fire Dozer Lines Fire Protection
Sacramento, CA – Calaveras County is getting a nice slice of a $43.3 million local fire prevention funding pie.
This week, CAL Fire released the list of 55 local fire prevention projects across the state that were chosen to receive grant monies from the California Climate Investments (CCI) program for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Calaveras County Resource Conservation District (CCRCD) received over $2.1 million for its Murphys-to-Forest-Meadows WUI Fuel Break project designed to protect approximately 7,000 homes along the Highway 4-Ebbetts Pass Corridor.
The second grant of just under $2 million awarded to Calaveras Healthy Impact Product Solutions is for an endeavor titled the Arnold-Avery Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Fuel Break Maintenance Project.
The scope will focus on restoring, maintaining and expanding the now revegetated Butte Fire dozer lines across 940 acres. It is estimated the work will protect 5,586 structures and 22,250 acres in communities that make up the most densely populated area within CAL Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Battalion 4. The project is part of a collaborative bi-county fuel break effort.
CCI taps cap-and-trade dollars for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health and the environment, particularly in low income and disadvantaged communities. The projects meet California’s 2019 Strategic Fire Plan goals and objectives and involve hazardous fuel reductions, wildfire preparedness planning, and fire prevention education.
CAL Fire Director Thomas Porter notes, “We have doubled down on our efforts to clear brush, inspect homes for defensible space and reduce the risk of wildfires. These 55 local projects will play a critical role in augmenting our fire prevention efforts.”
The grants are generally funded for a four-year cycle with the requirement that the work itself be completed by March 15, 2024.
Over the past six years, CAL Fire has funded more than $150 million for 430-plus local fire prevention grants to help address wildfire risk and reduce wildfire potential within wildland-urban interface communities.
