Abatement for all, says MCFSC

The Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) is the recipient of a new and generous state grant to help improve and create defensible space on the Hill, and also to remove more dead and dying trees from within the Hill neighborhoods.

The grant’s amount is $3.62 million and the funding will be available for five years, through the end of 2028.

“This is the largest grant our organization has ever been awarded,” Callie Squires, MCFSC office manager, said proudly. “We’re pretty pleased.”

The funds come from Cal Fire’s Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that 96 recipients throughout California will receive a total of $113 million. Almost all the work will be invested in hazardous fuels reduction and wildfire prevention planning and education.

“These kinds of projects save lives and livelihoods, and we’re scaling it up,” Newsom said in the announcement. “It was work like this that helped communities like South Lake Tahoe and Pollock Pines avert unknowable destruction. Our goal is to stop devastation before it happens — to keep Californians safe, and preserve our communities and shared history.”

The grant will allow MCFSC to assist local homeowners to improve or to create defensible space and to removal dead and dying trees, according to Squires.

However, this award has one big difference from past MCFSC projects. With this money, MCFSC also can do work on vacant parcels throughout the residential neighborhoods, Squires stressed. Previous grants were limited to properties on which there was an existing structure, primarily a residence.

“But this grant is open to everybody, including property owners without structures,” Squires said.

This new option is not accidental. Squires described the grant application MCFSC submitted. It included a Geographical Information System map of the Hill, which showed that many vacant lots were interspersed among properties with houses and other structures.

“This highlighted the checkerboard nature of the distribution of the vacant lots,” she added. “And this will complement the work being done along the perimeter by other agencies such as Cal Fire and the Forest Service.”

Another difference is that these awards will have no socio-economic limitations, such as elderly or low- or moderate-income property owners. Nor does it have to be the property owner’s primary residence.

“We like to call it, ‘Abatement for All,’” Squires pronounced.

But the share of the cost will be different for vacant lots compared to parcels with structures, she added.

If the property has a structure, the owner will be responsible for 25% of the project cost, similar to past grants. MCFSC, through the grant funds, pays the 75% balance.

For vacant lots, the owner will pay 15% of the total cost, and MCFSC will cover the 85% remainder. “This is an incentive for those owners and it may be an attraction for owners who live off the Hill,” Squires said.

Between now and the end of 2023, MCFSC staff will work with Cal Fire to develop standards for the work and cost to create defensible space on the vacant lots. Consequently, there will not be a need for a full assessment of these parcels. MCFSC will develop a flat price per acre, she believes. But there will be some consultation with local tree removal contractors.

“Investing in communities before a wildfire strikes is a critical component of California’s wildfire strategy,” said Cal Fire Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler. “These proactive investments support local projects that protect, engage, and educate communities to increase wildfire prevention and resiliency efforts throughout the state.”

While a fully signed agreement is still being developed, Squires expects to begin taking applications early this fall.

The kick-off for this grant program will be at MCFSC’s Summer Education and Outreach Event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at the Mountain Resources Center.

“There will be more information about Cal Fire’s new standards for structural defensible space, including Zone 0, which is a subset of Zone 1,” Squires added. This zone includes the area under and around all attached decks, and requires the most stringent wildfire fuel reduction, according to the MCFSC flier.

Zone 0, the 5 feet closest to the house, is critical, according to Cal Fire. “Keeping the area closest to buildings, structures, and decks clear will prevent embers from igniting materials that can spread the fire to your home,” Cal Fire said on its website www.fire.ca.gov/dspace. Several steps one can take to improve Zone 0’s protection are listed at the site.

Of the 96 grant awards, only six were for more than $3 million, one of which went to MCFSC. Fourteen were in the $2 million to $3 million range.

MCFSC was formed in 2001 and a year later received its official nonprofit status as an IRS 501(c)(3) organization. Since then, MCFSC has been an example for other fire safe councils and is often contacted for assistance.