CalFire has awarded millions of dollars to San Luis Obispo County to help reduce wildfire fuel.
85% of US wildfires are caused by human activity like fallen power lines or car fires, according to the National Park Service.
When these fires start in hard-to-reach areas with lots of vegetation, they can quickly turn catastrophic, as seen recently in Hawaii.
To help avoid that, Cal Fire has given SLO County $4 million for projects to remove fire fuel across the region.
David Erickson is with Cal Fire SLO.
“The fuel reduction projects are designed to allow firefighters access to remote areas and also designed to reconfigure the fuels to reduce the intensity and severity of wildfires,” Erickson said.
Jonathan Gee, Cal Fire SLO’s forestry assistant, said almost $3 million will go to the SLO County Community Fire Safe Council for fuel reduction. It’s the largest project under this grant.
“That’s all inclusive of roadside clearances to help with evacuation routes and reducing fuel loading next to roadways,” Gee said.
Other recipients of the grant include the City of Paso Robles; they’re receiving nearly $450 thousand to purchase equipment for their fire prevention efforts near the Salinas River. The City of Pismo Beach will also receive almost $200 thousand for new fuel reduction equipment.
CalFire’s Toni Davis said apart from these grants, it's important for community members to do their part in fire prevention. One key way is to create defensible space to make your property safer.
“It's not a one time a year thing,” Davis said. “It's a full time job of keeping and maintaining your property of anything dead and dying. Any of that vegetation can cause a fire to travel from your property line to another person's property line.”
The $4 million grant for SLO County is from a larger $133 million initiative by Cal Fire to help prevent wildfires across California.
Cal Fire’s website is fire.ca.gov. You can find out how to prepare for wildfires in SLO County at readyslo.org.
