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Grass Valley staff outlines Measure B wildfire program, inspections and community outreach
Summary
Community Risk Reduction Manager Dwayne Strawser updated the City Council on Measure B implementation, describing inspection goals, fuel-reduction projects, home-hardening assistance and outreach plans. He said the city will begin defensible-space inspections and has an oversight committee and auditing in place.
Dwayne Strawser, the city’s community risk reduction manager, told the Grass Valley City Council on May 20, 2025, that Measure B funding is being used to staff wildfire prevention work and expand vegetation-management programs, and that the city is preparing for a large schedule of defensible-space inspections.
Strawser said the Measure B allocation was split roughly “50/50” between fire-safety personnel and vegetation-management projects. He summarized early work as complaint-driven removals and shaded-fuel breaks and said city staff plan to inspect the city’s roughly “6,500 plus or minus parcels” to build a defensible-space database. “We, I believe, have 6,500 plus or minus parcels, structures that we have to inspect,” Strawser said.
The program overview explained several parts of the launch: staffing and training (including a recent certification course Strawser completed in Truckee), creation of a citizen oversight committee, annual audits and regular public reporting. Strawser described neighborhood projects already completed or in progress — clearing narrow access roads on Glenwood and Maidu, fuel breaks near the city water treatment plant on Alta Vista, cleanup at an overgrown lot at 608 Butler Street that the city learned is a BLM parcel, and a large cleanup on the Whispering Pines/Ida Meron slopes near the Loma Rica development.
Strawser said the city is coordinating with nonprofits (including Wolf Creek Alliance and the Faroe Land Project) and volunteers for revegetation with firewise, native plants, and is pursuing funding for privacy fencing and other mitigation for affected homeowners. He described the work as a “shaded fuel break model” intended to leave a natural appearance while reducing fire connectivity.
Council members asked about AB 38 inspections (the state real-estate inspection requirement on sales), practical retrofits for homeowners, availability of low-cost changes such as screened vents, and help for residents unable to install hardware themselves. Strawser said AB 38 is similar to the city’s defensible-space inspections and that the city is charging a modest fee for AB 38 inspections so public funds are not used to pay for mandated sale-related inspections. He said the city planned to pursue micro‑grants, volunteer help and partnerships to assist older or non-handy residents with installation tasks.
Nut graf: The Measure B program aims to expand Grass Valley’s wildfire preparedness by combining inspections, on-the-ground vegetation work, homeowner education and program oversight. Council members and staff presented the rollout as ongoing — with an emphasis on prioritizing highest-risk areas, building databases of inspections and seeking funding and volunteers for home-hardening and revegetation.
Council did not take an action vote on the Measure B program at the meeting; Strawser said staff will return with program updates and implementation details as activities proceed.
Ending: Strawser emphasized education and incremental improvements, citing low-cost measures — screening vents, shifting plant lists away from flammable species and metal breaks in wooden fences — as important early actions residents can take while the city scales inspections and large fuel‑reduction projects.
