Wine Country Times

Sonoma County community groups soon will be invited to submit plans in order to secure grants through the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for vegetation management projects ahead of the 2021 fire season.

From $2 to $4 million of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company settlement funds from litigation to recover damages related to the “2017 Sonoma Complex Fires” has been allocated for vegetation management projects, a Sonoma County press release said. Sonoma County received $149.3 million in settlement funds, of which $25 million the board of supervisors allocated for vegetation management. Vegetation management reduces wildfire risk, supports ecosystems and agriculture plus promotes safety, the press release said.

“Very soon we’ll be releasing a request for proposals,” Lynda Hopkins, the board’s chair, told KSRO-AM/FM.

Local community groups will have the opportunity to apply for a grant, Hopkins said.

“Whether that’s a small neighborhood group that’s trying to band together to do a wood chipper or whether it’s a larger organization that has a more, you know, sort of systematic approach for a larger area to treat, they will have an opportunity to put their hat in the ring for a grant so we can actually get some good work going before the fire season,” Hopkins said.

This year’s fire season could be “very severe” because of dry conditions, Hopkins said. The fire season starts earlier and ends later every year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said on its website about the “2021 Fire Season Outlook.”

“Warmer spring and summer temperatures, reduced snowpack and earlier spring snowmelt create longer and more intense dry seasons that increase moisture stress on vegetation and make forests more susceptible to severe wildfire,” CAL FIRE’s website said.

Areas most at risk for fire include the lower Russian River Corridor and the Bohemian Corridor towards Camp Meeker and Occidental, Hopkins said.

“Some of those areas that we know where there’s a high risk of fire and where there’s also a high concentration of houses, those are some of the areas that we’re going to be targeting,” Hopkins said.