Tag Archives: mariposa county resource conservation district
CAL FIRE Establishes New Training Program to Increase Defensible Space and Home Hardening Efforts
Expansion of assessment and education program will help increase wildfire resilience in the State Responsibility Area
September 26, 2023 – Sacramento, CA – CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) has established a statewide 
program to allow qualified entities to support the Department in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts. Qualified entities are local, or state government agencies, academic staff, or other approved organizations who have undergone the new OSFM Defensible Space Assessment Program training detailed below.
These qualified entities, with the authorization of the Director of CAL FIRE, are eligible to undergo training to conduct defensible space and home hardening assessments within the State Responsibility Area. This includes educating property owners about wildfire safety improvements that may be undertaken to harden a structure and make it more resistant to wildfire and assessing whether wildfire safety improvements have been completed on or around a structure.
“This program will be a force multiplier in our efforts to assist homeowners statewide in achieving compliance with defensible space and home hardening,” stated Chief Daniel Berlant, Acting State Fire Marshal. “Defensible space, coupled with home hardening, is essential to improve your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. Expanding our state’s efforts through the use of this program will result in a more wildfire resilient California.”
Qualified entities that have community momentum built around defensible space are being targeted for inclusion in the initial stages of this program. A pilot program has been established using trained personnel from the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council with the first Defensible Space and Home Hardening Assessor course being taught in April 2023.
“El Dorado County’s Fire Safe Councils are very appreciative of the assistance and direction CAL Fire has given to them”, stated Hugh Council, Vice Chair of the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council. “The Fire Safe Councils look forward to continuing to assist their communities with defensible space and home hardening assessments to ensure necessary steps are taken to make their county fire safe.”
The California Conservation Corps (CCC) will host a training for its Corpsmembers and staff in the Fall of 2023. The CCC will start assessments on state facilities located in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones working down to Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones. After the assessment, CCC will be conducting vegetation reduction projects around each of the state facilities, bringing them into compliance with the defensible space standards.
“The CCC looks forward to helping our communities become more fire-resilient,” stated CCC Director Bruce Saito. “Our Corpsmembers will learn skills that can lead to meaningful careers in fire prevention. And, most importantly, they’ll have the personal knowledge of how to keep their own homes and neighborhoods safer from wildfire.”
OSFM’s training program will provide consistent training for qualified entity assessors, who will provide nonregulatory assistance to homeowners to reduce fire risk and achieve compliance with defensible space requirements. The training will also ensure that all defensible space and home hardening assessment and education programs undertaken by the department and by qualified entities are conducted to the same standard and use coordinated messaging, including messages at www.readyforwildfire.org. Upon an individual’s successful completion of the training program, the department shall issue a certification of completion to the individual.
If you are a member of a local government or qualified entity, as defined in PRC 4291.5, you may request the Model Defensible Space Program and Inspection Platform or the Qualified Entities Assessment Platform using this form: https://forms.office.com/g/FwpYJrM20d.
This program will create more face-to-face interaction and educational opportunities between homeowners and individuals who are trained in defensible space and home hardening; ultimately creating a more wildfire resilient California by increasing public knowledge of scientifically proven home hardening and defensible space best practices.
To learn more about the Defensible Space program, visit: https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace.
Source: CAL FIRE
Wildfire Preparedness Workshops – July 2023
UC Agriculture & Natural Resources is organizing several workshops this week in the Mariposa area around home hardening, defensible space, and fire insurance next week. This is some invaluable information on fire protection around your home. Please visit www.cemariposa.ucanr.edu or call Alison Deak at (209) 966-2417 for more information.
CAL FIRE Shows How Home Hardening Can Help Build Stronger, More Fire Resilient Homes After 2018 Camp Fire
May 29, 2023 – CAL FIRE officials report that the town of Paradise knows better than any the devastating effects of an ember-driven wildfire when it enters a town.
Resident, Casey Taylor, lost her home in 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in California’s history. However, using scientifically proven and demonstrated home hardening and defensible space measures, she is building back with a stronger and more fire resilient home.
Just like Casey, you too can prepare your home and property for wildfire. Small measures can make a big difference that could ultimately save your house in the event of a wildfire.
Source: CAL FIRE
Funding, Training, and Home Hardening News – 13 February 2023
Dear Yosemite-Mariposa IRWM members and stakeholders,
1. The Bureau of Reclamation is making approximately $80 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law available for water conservation, water management, and restoration projects that will result in significant benefits to ecosystem or watershed health. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $8.3 billion for Reclamation water infrastructure projects over 5-years to advance drought resilience and expand access to clean water for families, farmers, and wildlife. The investment will repair aging water delivery systems, secure dams, complete rural water projects, and project aquatic ecosystems.
More information on this funding opportunity can be found by clicking here. Applications are due on March 28th at 3 pm. A recording was held to discuss eligible applicants and project types, program requirements, and the evaluation criteria. To view the recording, please click here. Please note that Microsoft Teams is required to view the recording, which is a little under 2-hours long.
2. The Mariposa County RCD is launching its Home Hardening program Countywide. We will be providing free site assessments, which will include a list of recommended hardening measures, and free installation of ember screens for attic and crawlspace vents, or vegetation clearance from 5 feet of building foundations. If you are interested in participating, or want to share with your networks, the enrollment process is to send an email titled Home Hardening with the applicant name, address, and phone number to MariposaCountyRCD@gmail.com. We will be in touch to schedule a site assessment.
3. Prescribed Fire training. Join CCTREX for the Central Coast Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (CalTREX)! The event will take place on June 3 – 10, 2023 througout the MontereyBay Region (San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz counties) and have a home base in Carmel Valley!
CCTREX firelighters will have 8 days of burning and training on diverse lands, learning and working alongside fire practicioners, tribal partners, ranchers, land managers, and community members to meet numerous objectives with “Good Fire”. The application deadline is February 28th, and the fee is $220. Apply now!
4. Two announcements from PG&E that may be of interest:
To help offset higher than normal natural gas and electricity bills, residential customers will automatically receive the California Climate Credit earlier than usual this year. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved distributing the credit as soon as possible, instead of the annual April timeframe.
PG&E recently launched its Pre-Owned Electric Vehicle (EV) Rebate Program, providing qualified residential customers up to $4,000 when purchasing or leasing a pre-owned EV. The program aims to distribute more than $78 million to promote the adoption of EVs and make EV ownership more affordable for all customers. We also launched a pre-enrollment website for customers interested in joining the company’s three upcoming Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot programs, offering customers financial incentives to integrate new bidirectional EV charging technology, which allows a customer’s electric vehicle to become a mobile battery, capable of storing electricity that can be used to provide onsite power or send power back to the grid during periods of peak electricity demand.
Thank you for your participation in the Yosemite-Mariposa IRWM program.
Melinda Barrett
Mariposa County RCD
(559)580-0944