CAL-FIRE Announces Grant Projects

MML

Sacramento, CA– In the wake of a very devastating fire season, CAL-FIRE has announced $138 million dollars in grant-funded projects to take place throughout the state. Chief Thomas Porter, CAL FIRE director explains.

“This year, wildfires have once again been extremely severe and damaging, which only highlights our continued need to perform more community-based fire prevention projects. Our wildfire and forest strategy includes funding these types of fire prevention projects to reduce the severity of wildfires and harden our communities.”

This will fund projects in both Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. In Calaveras, the Calaveras County Resource Conservation District was awarded $440,608 and  will be undergoing the “Forest Meadows/Wylderidge Fuels Reduction Project” with the description stating “The proposed shaded fuel break will reduce the risk of fire ignition, slow its spread, and prevent its climb to the canopy, thereby increasing the chance of containment before any of our homes and community infrastructure is involved”

Tuolumne County has three projects listed. The first and largest from Tuolumne County Resource Conservation District and $2,202,280 going to the “Pine Mountain Lake Fuel Reduction Project” with a description stating its goals as “Within the project area sits Pine Mountain Lake Association(PMLA), a large WUI subdivision with 2,834 buildable lots. If the project gets approved, this 641-acre fuel break will protect PMLA and the communities of Groveland and Big Oak Flat from the east.”

The next project was instigated by the “Highway 108 Safe Council”, they were awarded $362,384 to complete the Mountain Boy Mine/Rocky Top Shaded Fuel Break that will “Reduce GHG emissions by reducing the opportunity for wildfire and preventing/lessening release of GHG emissions in the event of a wildfire”.

Another project from the same group is the “Apple Valley-Meadow Brook, Shaded Fuel Break” and is a $389,043 grant that’s stated goals will “have a very significant effect from the consequences of a wildfire in the center of Tuolumne County populated area between the City of Sonora and East Sonora with over 420 habitable structures within the project immediate area and will offer protection to the County’s major water storage area, Phoenix Lake.”

Full details about the projects above and other projects throughout the state can be found here.