‘Game changer’: USDA funding coming for three local fire safety projects
Three Humboldt County fire defense projects will soon see $8 million. These dollars will be a “game changer,” said Shelter Cove Fire Chief Nick Pape.
“We are one way in one way out community. Shelter Cove Road, basically, is our evacuation route,” said Pape.
One escape route, large amounts of fire fuels and steep terrain means Shelter Cove is at high risk for forest fires. Over $6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be granted to Shelter Cove to address this risk.
“These are rural communities where you just don’t have millions of dollars laying around to do these things,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). Huffman noted the funding will go entirely to locally conceived projects. “This is based on what these communities have identified as their priorities and asked for federal support, and I’m just so pleased that we finally have the resources to deliver on that,” he said.
According to a press release from Huffman, he worked to secure the funding from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. This was from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Briceland Volunteer Fire Department and the Mattole Restoration Council Prosper Ridge project will also be receiving funds for fire safety.
Shelter Cove is surrounded by a greenbelt of forest. Fire Chief Pape says the area averages ten fires a year, and noted that Shelter Cove has been very lucky to have not lost any structures recently. While Shelter Cove has a fuels reduction chipper program, small lots and absent owners have created a defensible space problem.
California law states that defensible space is 100 feet around a house, but tiny lots in Shelter Cove make it hard for homeowners to achieve this. If your neighbor doesn’t maintain fire safety and their property is within 100 feet of your home, this puts your house at risk.
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By: SAGE ALEXANDER
Source: Times Standard
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