Dear Colleagues,
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is soliciting proposals for the Wildfire Prevention (WP) Grants Program for wildfire prevention projects and activities in and near wildfire threatened communities that focus on increasing the protection of people, structures, and communities.
The WP Grants program three types of activities: Hazardous Fuels Reduction, Wildfire Prevention Planning, and Wildfire Prevention Education. Examples include:
Hazardous Fuels Reduction
- Vegetation clearance in critical locations to reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread
- Creation or maintenance of fuel breaks in strategic locations, as identified in CAL FIRE Unit Fire Plans, a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, or similar strategic planning document
- Removal of ladder fuels to reduce the risk of crown fires
- Creation of community-level wildfire prevention programs, such as community chipping days, roadside chipping, and green waste bin programs
- Selective tree removal (thinning) to improve forest health to withstand wildfire
- Modification of vegetation adjacent to roads to improve public safety for egress of evacuating residents and ingress of responding emergency personnel
- Reduction of fuel loading around critical infrastructure to maintain continuity of government and other critical services
- Projects to improve compliance with defensible space requirements as required by Public Resources Code Section 4291 (Projects eligible for CCI funds are low-income, disabled, or elderly households per CA requirements)
- Seasonal and temporary prescribed grazing using temporary infrastructure consistent with increasing the protection of people, structures, and communities
Wildfire Prevention Planning
- Wildfire risk or related mapping
- Creation or update of strategic wildfire planning documents, such as:
o Evacuation plans
o Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP)
o Local Hazard Mitigation Plans
o Safety Elements
o Wildfire Prevention or mitigation plans
Wildfire Prevention Education
- Development and implementation of public education and outreach programs
- Workshops, meetings, materials creation, and other educational activities with the purpose of increasing knowledge and awareness of information that could be used to reduce the total number of wildfires, acres burned, and structures lost
- To educate the public on making homes and communities more wildfire resilient, including defensible space training
As a requirement for funding, the projects must provide benefits to habitable structures and people in and near wildfire threatened communities. Moreover, the Projects must demonstrate all efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Visit the CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants web page (https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants/wildfire-prevention-grants) for more information. The complete application and eligibility requirements are available in the California Climate Investments Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Wildfire Prevention Grants Program Procedural Guide which can be found by following this link: https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/what-we-do/grants/wildfire-prevention/fy-2023-2024-grant-forms/fy-2023-24-wildfire-prevention-grants-procedural-guide-final.pdf?rev=2ec0cd5450574aafa1aff19a713e5477&hash=FFD0FF40012A317E08223EAD1B35E31B
Applications Due: January 10, 2024 at 3PM
Recommended Grant Amount: up to$3,000,000
Required Match: Encouraged but not required
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)