The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
October 21, 2022, marks exactly one year since the Caldor Fire was completely contained.
Over the last year and with months of research and collaboration, the Eldorado National Forest released a four-part series examining the Caldor Fire. This series reviews the suppression efforts that took place, the fire behavior challenging firefighters, the road to rehabilitation and restoration, and what is being done now to lower the future risk of fire to communities.
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Episode 1: Initial response and experiences of firefighters who not only worked but also lived in the area
Episode 2: How fire behavior and fuel conditions made for a challenging fire fight
Episode 3: What restoration and rehabilitation work has occurred and its importance
Episode 4: What is being done to reduce extreme wildfire behavior
Eastern Sierra Recreation Update
Eastern Sierra Climate Communities Resilience Project aims to reduce wildfire danger and improve forest health and resilience around the Town of Mammoth Lakes
Good things are happening in the Eastern Sierra thanks to collaborative efforts between state, federal, and local partners. These efforts will not only help build resiliency of Mammoth Lakes and the forests, but sustain the recreation economy that Mammoth provides in the Eastern Sierra.
Mammoth Lakes “Donut” Project: The Eastern Sierra Climate and Communities Resilience Project, known locally as the “Mammoth Donut,” is wrapping up its two-year preplanning phase and implementation will soon begin under this multi-year wildfire and forest resiliency project. Spanning 56,000 acres of Inyo National Forest across six different watersheds and managed by the Whitebark Institute, the planning for this landscape-scale project included input from a wide range of partners and was enabled by funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the Regional Fire and Forest Capacity Program. The Inyo National Forest is now inviting public input on this project.
Mammoth Lakes Basin Trails Ribbon Cutting: On October 5th, Inyo National Forest and the Town of Mammoth Lakes officially opened several new trails in the Mammoth Lakes Basin. These new trails are a result of the community engagement effort from the Lakes Basin Special Study, an effort that began in 2012 led by the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Foundation (MLTPA), MLTPA, with grant funding from SNC.
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MLTPA: Lakes Basin Special Study
Mammoth Lakes Trail System: RibbonCutting Celebration for New LakesBasin Trails
SNC’s Mammoth Lakes Donut Project
OPR Releases Wildfire Technical Advisory and WUI Planning Guide
OPR Releases new resources: Fire Hazard Planning Technical Advisory and WUI Planning Guide
In an important step forward on two key requirements in the Task Force Action plan, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) today published new resources to support local agencies and communities as they plan for wildfire at the community scale.
The first is OPR’s updated Fire Hazard Planning Technical Advisory (TA) which helps cities and counties address and reduce wildfire risk in their general plans. They also released the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Planning Guide. This publication complements the TA by providing specific examples and best practice case studies to communities to reference as they plan and implement wildfire solutions.
OPR is an important Task Force partner, and these valuable publications will contribute to the Task Force’s goal of strengthening the protection of communities across California.
To learn more, read the OPR announcement and sign up for an informational webinar on September 14th, 2022.
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OPR Wildfire Planning Resources
Informational Webinar: OPR’s Wildfire Guidance & Resources
Cal OES Awards $25 Million to Local Organizations to Protect Vulnerable Communities
Cal OES Awards $25 Million to Local Organizations to Protect Vulnerable Communities from Disasters
In this second wave of funding, the California Department of Emergency Services awarded grants to 93 community partners to ensure the state’s most vulnerable are ready when disaster strikes. These grants prioritize communities that are considered both socially vulnerable and at a high risk of being impacted by wildfire, flood, earthquake, drought or heatwave.
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Governor Signs State Forest and Wildfire Budget
Governor Signs State Forest and Wildfire Budget
On June 30, Governor Newsom signed a state budget that includes an additional $670 million for programs that will provide immediate benefits during the 2022 fire season and help the state prepare for the 2023 fire season. Key investments (Link pending) include $400 million for wildfire resilience projects, $265 million for strategic fuel breaks, and $5 million to expand defensible space inspections. The budget also sets aside an additional $530 million over two years for forest and wildfire resilience programs that will be allocated in the summer pending additional discussions with the legislature.
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Forestry project complete at Feather River reservoir
Forestry project complete at Feather River reservoir
The Little Grass Valley Reservoir Watershed Project will have a big impact when it comes to protecting local communities and valuable water infrastructure from wildfire.
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High Risk Landscapes To Receive $80.7M in U.S. Forest Service Funding
Two High Wildfire Risk Landscapes To Receive $80.7M in U.S. Forest Service Funding
Targeted investments for first high-risk areas identified in Tahoe and Stanislaus National Forests.
April 20, 2022 – As part of the Forest Service’s strategy for Confronting the Wildfire Crisis, two landscapes within the Stanislaus and Tahoe national forests will receive targeted investments to increase forest resiliency and health through a broad range of treatments. These two forests will collectively receive $28.6 million in 2022 and an additional $52.1 million over the next three years, for a total of $80.7 million. This funding is being appropriated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The North Yuba Landscape Resilience area on the Tahoe National Forest and the SERAL (Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape) area on the Stanislaus National Forest are two of 10 landscapes selected nationally to receive this funding. Overall, the 10 landscapes will receive $131 million this year to begin implementing our 10-year strategy for protecting communities and improving resilience in America’s forests.
In addition to state and federal agencies, these two landscape-scale restoration efforts are supported by partnerships with Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions, Tuolumne County, the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk, the North Yuba Forest Partnership – which includes Sierra County and the Nisenan of the Nevada City Rancheria – and several others. To find out more about the initial landscape investments, visit WCS Initial Landscape Investments- USDA Forest Service.
Tahoe National Forest:
The 313,000-acre North Yuba Landscape is one of the largest contiguous “unburned” landscapes remaining in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The North Yuba watershed is also an important water source for residential and agricultural areas surrounding Sacramento. It feeds a reservoir retained by the tallest dam in California, which also provides power to the Sacramento area. Through ecologically based thinning and prescribed fire, the North Yuba Forest Partnership seeks to protect North Yuba communities from the threat of catastrophic wildfire and restore the watershed to a healthier, more resilient state. This landscape is also host to the first two Forest Resilience Bonds, which leverage substantial private sector investment to help fund implementation of this work.
Stanislaus National Forest SERAL:
Within the Stanislaus Landscape a full suite of needed treatments to restore forest resilience at a landscape scale. Named SERAL for Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape, these treatments include mastication, biomass removal, machine piling for burning, hand piling for burning, hand thinning, timber harvest, hazard tree removal, prescribed fire, and fuel break construction and maintenance. Combined, these efforts will reduce hazardous fuels and create a landscape that can better withstand disturbances such as wildfire, insects, disease, and drought conditions, while also protecting local communities, providing for critical species habitat, and supporting forest use and recreational opportunities.
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Ready, Set, Go Brochure
Ready, Set, Go Brochure
The new CAL FIRE guide illustrates the importance of creating and maintaining defensible space and hardening homes by retrofitting with ignition-resistance or noncombustible materials to protect against the threat of flying embers, direct flame contact and radiant heat exposure. The guide provides information about the preparations and precautions needed to safely evacuate if the threat of fire exists. These new brochures are the consolidation of past materials and part of the new Wildfire Action Plan that incorporates the Ready, Set, Go campaign. Brochures will be delivered to the CAL FIRE units for distribution during public events, fairs, and community meetings.
Recent CAL FIRE Grants Total Over $250M For Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Recent CAL FIRE Grants Total Over $250M For Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Funded projects address threatened communities, forest health, prescribed fire, restoring burned landscapes and more.
June 2, 2022 – CAL FIRE Grant Programs have allocated funds to address crucial needs in a wide range of areas related to wildfire and forest resilience. Together, they represent significant progress towards achieving the goals of California’s Wildfire & Forest Resilience Action Plan.
$118 million in funding was awarded for 144 Wildfire Prevention projects across the state. CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Prevention Grants enable local organizations like fire safe councils, to implement activities that address the hazards of wildfire and reduce wildfire risk to communities. Funded activities include hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and wildfire prevention education.
CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program awarded 22 grants totaling $98.4 million for landscape-scale forest health and prescribed fire projects spanning over 55,000 acres and 14 counties. They also awarded $10 million to the North Coast Resource Partnership (NCRP) for its regional wildfire resilience plan, which was developed with support from the Department of Conservation’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program.
30 grants totaling $33 million came from CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy Team for business and workforce development projects. Ten workforce grants will help train over 5,000 individuals in prescribed fire, fuels treatment, firefighting, and forestry, and another14 grants will create 120 jobs and utilize 750,000 tons of forest biomass that would otherwise remain in the woods or be burned in open piles. Two projects will expand the State’s native tree seed bank and grow seedlings to assist with reforestation, and six research and development grants will fund novel uses for forest biomass sourced from wildfire mitigation projects.
CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Resilience Program awarded $9.99 million in block grants to the American Forest Foundation (AFF), Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD). The grants will support forest improvement projects on approximately 6,000 acres of small non-industrial private forestlands and provide technical assistance to private landowners in13 counties.
Be Prepared. It’s Wildfire Preparedness Week
Be Prepared. It’s Wildfire Preparedness Week.
Harden Your Home. Create Defensible Space. Be Prepared for Wildfire! CAL FIRE Uses Wildfire Preparedness Week to Share the Message
May 1, 2022 – California’s Wildfire Preparedness Week is May 1 – 7, 2022, and CAL FIRE and its partner agencies are spending the week raising awareness on what individuals and communities can do to help protect themselves against the threat of wildfires. Being proactive and prepared for wildfire is crucial for all Californians in making its communities more resilient to the impacts of wildfire.
Almost half of the state’s largest and most damaging wildfires occurred in 2020 and 2021, and more than 6.8 million acres burned during this time. Lack of rainfall, with above normal temperatures through the spring, will leave fuel moisture levels lower than normal, increasing the potential for wildland fire activity. In 2022, CAL FIRE has already responded to more than 1,400 wildfires, burning more than 6,500 acres on state and federal lands combined.
“California continues to experience longer wildfire seasons as a direct result of climate change,” said Joe Tyler, CAL FIRE Director/Chief. “Minimal rainfall is expected throughout the spring, leaving most of the state in moderate to extreme drought conditions prior to summer.”
This year, Governor Newsom’s proposed budget for CAL FIRE allocates more than $3 billion for fire management, fire prevention, mitigation efforts including prescribed fire and fuel breaks, forest health, and home hardening.
Californians also have an important role in preparing for and preventing wildfires. Thousands of communities depend on smart planning and prevention tools like protective fuel breaks, defensible space, and home hardening for their safety and survival. These tools work together to build more fire-resilient communities. By preparing well in advance of a wildfire and taking steps now to reduce wildfire risks, you can dramatically increase your safety, the safety of your community, and the survivability of your home.
