Sacramento – Monday, CAL FIRE announced it had awarded an additional $3 million in grants throughout the state for a variety of fire prevention projects aimed at reducing the elevated threat of wildfires due to the ongoing drought and significant tree mortality. The announcement comes just two months after CAL FIRE released nearly $2 million for fire prevention projects in the counties hit hardest by tree mortality and bark beetle. “This grant funding will help communities prepare for what is likely to be another challenging fire season,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director and California’s state forester. “These grants will help complete vital fire prevention projects to help mitigate some of the impacts created by four years of drought and hazardous fuel build up.”

These grants are part of $5 million from the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund allowing
local fire departments and fire districts to create projects that help to reduce the threat of wildfires
around homes within the State Responsibility Area. With today’s announcement for funding of 44
additional projects, it brings the total number of projects funded to 63. These projects will reinforce
and augment CAL FIRE’s ongoing projects and efforts to address the risk and potential impacts of
large, damaging wildfires. Grant selection criteria weighted projects that address fire risk and potential
impact of wildfire to habitable structures in the State Responsibility Area, as well as community
support and project feasibility.

A full list of the grant projects can be viewed at:

Click to access 2016_FuelReducionGrants.pdf

While firefighters are busy working on fire prevention projects including brush clearance, fire breaks
and fuel reduction, officials stress the need for residents to do their part. This is the time of year when
residents should be working to ensure they have 100 feet of Defensible Space around their homes. This
includes removing all dead or dying grass, brush and trees, limbing up branches six feet from the
ground, and cleaning leaves, needles or debris off roofs and gutters. Learn more at
www.ReadyForWildfire.org.