The Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative started clearing out brush and dead trees last year as part of its grant-funded project. The collaborative is made up of the Santa Clara FireSafe Council, San Jose Water, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Santa Clara County Parks. (Photo courtesy of Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative)
As wildfire season approaches, local leaders are taking steps to reduce the risk of devastating fires making their way through the West Santa Clara Valley.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors directed staff to enter into a five-year, $1.25 million contract with the county’s FireSafe Council to reduce the risk of wildfires. Central Fire Protection District Chief Suwanna Kerdkaew will work with the council to facilitate the contract.
The contract focuses on defensive-space brush chipping and debris removal services for owners and residents of properties in Central Fire’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development.
The FireSafe Council will also perform roadside vegetation treatments to maintain shaded fuel breaks and evacuation routes.
“The contract with the FireSafe Council will reduce hazardous fuels and increase public safety by creating more fire-resilient properties along public access areas in the WUI,” said Supervisor Joe Simitian, who recommended the action. “And it will ultimately decrease the potential for the catastrophic loss of life and property in a wildfire.”
The FireSafe Council is also asking for $60,000 in PG&E grant funding for its community chipping program in the WUI area of the county, which includes portions of the Los Gatos–the Santa Cruz Mountains in particular–as well as Saratoga, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas and San Jose.
“While this is good news in terms of keeping our area safe from fires, we need even more in terms of resources, which is why I’ve asked PG&E to approve the FireSafe Council’s request for grant funding for its community chipping program,” Simitian said. “With the devastating storms that hit our mountain communities so hard this past winter, our mountain residents especially need and deserve PG&E’s support.”
Central Fire was established in 1947 to provide emergency response to more than 225,000 people and partner with local, state and federal agencies to prevent wildfires.
Originally published at Hannah Kanik