Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County
Awarded $9,997,998 in US Forest Service Grant Funds
The Fire Safe Council of Siskiyou County (FSCSC) has received the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) that we applied for in conjunction with CORE Community Organized Relief Efforts as our partner. The US Forest Service (USFS) this week announced that the FSCSC is one of 100 applicants selected to receive funds for communities to plan for and reduce their risks from wildfire. The grant project, “Siskiyou County Home Assessment, Defensible Space, and Education Project” will receive $9,997,998, the second largest award in California.
The project will provide home assessment, home hardening, and defensible space work on approximately 500 homes throughout Siskiyou County. It will provide hazardous fuels reduction to enhance safe ingress and egress on approximately 300 acres around high-risk communities and includes a public education component.
The FSCSC will be assisted by CORE-Community Organized Relief Effort, a crisis response organization that brings immediate aid and recovery to underserved communities across the globe. In 2022 CORE, in partnership with the FSCSC, completed 60 plus defensible space and home hardening projects in Siskiyou County and assisted firefighting teams during the McKinney and Yeti Fires with community outreach and preparedness.
The USFS, an agency of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), was authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to distribute $197 million in grant funds to Tribes, states,
non-profits, and Alaska Native corporations serving communities with high wildfire hazard potential, low-income communities, and communities impacted by severe disasters. They received 417 applications.
FSCSC will provide updates at our monthly meetings.