Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the completion of 34 of the 35 emergency community wildfire prevention projects undertaken by the state as a result of his March 2019 Emergency Proclamation. The projects are all working fuel breaks, and are designed to help protect 200 communities in high wildfire risk areas statewide from catastrophic wildfires like 2018’s Carr Fire in Shasta County and Camp Fire in Butte County. The effort is of vital importance to many RCRC member counties, as 19 of the 35 projects are located in RCRC counties.
The projects are part of a larger forest resilience and wildfire protection strategy being undertaken by the state in collaboration with federal and local partners, including RCRC and its member counties, that was initiated by the passage of the RCRC-supported Senate Bill 901 (Dodd) in 2018, and the formation of the Governor’s Forest Management Task Force, in which RCRC is an active participant. RCRC continues to support the Governor and his Administration on his forest health, resilience and wildfire prevention efforts.
RCRC’s letter can be accessed here.