State announces $113 million in wildfire prevention grants for projects state-wide

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. – Governor Newsom announced $113 million in new investments in wildfire prevention efforts, including projects here on the Central Coast, on Thursday.

The $113 million in new funding draws from the $52 billion California Climate Commitment budget.

CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler said, “Investing in communities before a wildfire strikes is a critical component of California’s wildfire strategy. These proactive investments support local projects that protect, engage, and educate communities to increase wildfire prevention and resiliency efforts throughout the state. Wildfire is a year-round reality in California, and even though a historically wet winter was the exception this year, we are always ready for when conditions change and to continue our charge of creating a more wildfire resilient California. We are proud to help further this important and proactive work.” 

Projects in the Central Coast are listed below county by county.

Santa Barbara County:

• $312,985 to Wildland Residents Association (WRA) for hazardous fuels reduction
• $341,442.92 to Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council for wildfire prevention planning in Lompoc Valley
• $1,564,225.60 to Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council for wildfire prevention education through the Comprehensive Wildfire Education Program
• $2,889,902.32 to City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department and City Fire Department for hazardous fuels reduction through the City of Santa Barbara Wildfire Prevention Project

San Luis Obispo County:

• $857,337.60 to California State Parks-San Luis Obispo Coast District for hazardous fuels reduction through the WUI Fuel Reduction, San Luis Obispo Coast State Parks
• $190,537.69 to the City of Pismo Beach for hazardous fuels reduction through the Procuring Fuel Reduction Equipment program
• $443,797.35 to the City of Paso Robles for hazardous fuels reduction through the Paso Robles Hazardous Fuels Reduction Equipment program
• $2,857,954.06 to San Luis Obispo County Community Fire Safe Council through the 2023 San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Hazard Reduction program

Ventura County:

• $2,938,615.40 to the Central Ventura County Fire Safe Council, Inc. for wildfire prevention education through the Ventura County Education and Fuels Mitigation Initiative program
• $2,047,656.80 to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy for hazardous fuels reduction through the Upper Ventura River Watershed-Wide Arundo Donax Treatment program

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

For more information about Wildfire Prevention Grants, visit here.