On Wednesday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) announced nearly $138 million in local fire resilience grant dollars to 105 projects around the state, most of which is being directed from the Early Action funding approved by Governor Gavin Newsom in April. The funding can be accessed by local governments, fire safe councils, tribes and other local agencies to undertake community fire prevention and mitigation efforts.
Projects funded by the grants range from evacuation planning to shaded fuel breaks to removing hazard trees along critical infrastructure to providing community chipping services. Home hardening and defensible space support projects are also being funding to help residents in high fire risk areas retrofit their homes. Several projects are being funding in RCRC member counties, with the full list of projects available on CAL FIRE’s website here.