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January 20, 2023, Saratoga, CA—Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) announced today it has been awarded a $175,000 CAL FIRE County Coordinator Grant. The purpose of the County Coordinator Grant is to educate, encourage, and develop county-wide collaboration and coordination among Santa Clara County’s various wildfire mitigation groups. An independent 501(c)3 nonprofit, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council’s grant priorities include building a census of all active wildfire mitigation groups in the county, analyzing gaps in county-wide wildfire resiliency and emergency preparedness, and developing recommendations to fill these needs, developing mechanisms to improve outreach and coordination efforts.
“Robust engagement of local stakeholders in wildfire risk mitigation planning is an essential component to effective preparedness,” said Seth Schalet, CEO of Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. “Wildfires are increasing in frequency and magnitude in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. With the support of the County’s Board of Supervisors, our partners at Santa Clara County Fire Department and other agencies that endorsed our application, we now have the facility to strengthen the County’s already robust preparedness, ensuring all efforts are tracked, prioritized, and shared amongst all wildfire mitigation groups.”
“We are always contending with wildfires, and past experience has shown just how damaging and deadly they can be to our communities,” said Kasey Halcón, Deputy County Executive for the County of Santa Clara. “Luckily, we have the tools and resolve to prepare for the worst, including strong collaborations across local jurisdictions that will make us collectively more resilient. This grant is one of many new steps that will better coordinate our wildfire prevention efforts and bolster countywide mitigation programs to prepare our communities for natural disasters.”
“We have now witnessed the devastating impact of wildfires that have occurred across the state over the past several years,” explained Santa Clara County Fire Chief Suwanna Kerdkaew. “To mitigate the tragedy other communities have suffered, strategic and coordinated wildfire planning must occur. This CAL FIRE grant will strengthen current efforts by allowing for the creation of an intentional and strategic collaboration channel for the various wildfire mitigation groups across the County. This will serve to enhance the preparedness and resiliency of all communities located within Santa Clara County."
“Santa Clara County has a very large and diverse group of stakeholders who are not only concerned about wildfire risks but also have some capability to mitigate those risks,” stated Chief George Huang, CAL FIRE Unit Chief-Santa Clara Unit. “The new County Coordinator position will be in a unique position to develop a synergy amongst willing stakeholder groups that goes far beyond past efforts. Preventing catastrophic wildfires is our common goal. Prevention activities produce less environmental impacts, are less costly than wildfires, and do not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of County residents.”
“Our roll leading the current update of the county-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) will be a project that benefits from this grant, as it enables Santa Clara County FireSafe Council to track and monitor the progress each annex makes towards their goals, reporting that periodically to the County Board of Supervisors,” stated Schalet. “This enables each Supervisor to track their district’s progress, and creates a county-wide lens on mitigation efforts.” For more information on the CWPP, please visit https://sccfiresafe.org/cwpp/
About Santa Clara County FireSafe Council:
As a 501 (c)3 nonprofit with a 20-year history, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council’s core mission is to mobilize the people of Santa Clara County to protect their homes, communities, and environment from wildfires. A trusted partner across the government, fire service, corporate and WUI residential communities, SCCFSC has led some of the most complex hazardous fuel reduction projects in the region With a board of directors and advisory board that has a deep expertise across the wildfire ecosystem including wildfire and environmental research, academia, emergency management, regional planning, technology solutions and wildland firefighting leadership, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is uniquely positioned to lead cross-sector collaborations, government-private partnerships in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County and beyond. For more information, visit sccfiresafe.org
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
14380 Saratoga Ave
Saratoga, CA 95070
Phone: (408) 975-9591
Contact: Seth Schalet
Website: https://sccfiresafe.org/
California Climate Investments
The County Coordinator Grant project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at: www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.
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