The California Fire Safe Council (CFSC) plays an important role in improving wildfire resiliency in California and more specifically in Oak Park. Several of the grants that the Oak Park Fire Safe Council has received for homeowner education have come from CFSC.
The council, a non-profit corporation, was first formed as a project of the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) in 1993. Under the leadership of the California Fire Alliance—an effective networking group of federal, state, and local fire agencies—it was decided that the council should facilitate a more efficient way to get federal fire prevention and mitigation funding to local communities. The Fire Safe Council was tasked with developing and maintaining an online, “one-stop” grant clearinghouse, mainly for the four primary federal agencies: the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service, all of which are within the Department of Interior; and the Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service. These agencies now provide large master grants to CFSC to conduct, select, manage and monitor sub-grants to local community groups such as Fire Safe Councils, homeowner associations, local governments, fire departments, and other entities working on wildfire prevention activities such as defensible space, community fire planning, and education. The California Fire Safe Council also provides technical assistance to grantees to ensure successful grant application and project management.
CLICK HERE to understand the overall impact of the CFSC in areas including:
- Projects by type and year
- Communities affected
- Acres treated by type of mitigation
- Plans created
- Educational programs, products, workshops and training sessions
- Grants funded by year
- Success stories
In addition to its primary grants clearinghouse program, CFSC over the years has provided varying levels of technical assistance and support to Fire Safe Councils and other community wildfire preparedness groups—sometimes referred to as community wildfire practitioners—assisting them in both education in wildfire issues and in organizational issues related to capacity building and sustainability.
With the threat of wildfire looming ever-larger for many California communities, CFSC is redoubling its efforts to build strong local and countywide Fire Safe Councils and lead efforts in community wildfire preparedness, education, and mitigation to build fire-adapted communities throughout California.
