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County accepts $750,000 USFS grant to clear hazardous vegetation on private evacuation routes
Summary
The Board accepted a $750,000 United States Forest Service grant (with a 1:1 in‑kind match) to fund a Critical Evacuation Route and Hazardous Vegetation Removal Program that will solicit projects from Firewise communities, HOAs and nonprofits to reduce fuels on private roads and key ingress/egress routes.
The Board accepted a United States Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Fire and Aviation Management grant of $750,000 (with a $750,000 in‑kind match) to scale up hazardous vegetation removal along private evacuation routes. Director of Emergency Services Craig Grisbach and senior analyst Alex Keeble Toll described the program design, which builds on prior Firewise microgrant and winter storm debris projects and will prioritize community‑identified evacuation choke points and private roads with the greatest evacuation risk.
Alex Keeble Toll said the program will use a public call for proposals to Firewise groups, HOAs, road associations, schools and nonprofits, then manage procurement of qualified vendors to implement vegetation removal. Projects will be selected for shovel‑readiness and the county will provide administrative management and vendor contracting due to federal procurement requirements.
The Board approved ratifying the grant agreement and authorized the Director of Emergency Services to execute required documents; staff will run workshops and virtual office hours to help applicants develop shovel‑ready projects.
What's next: OES will finalize program priorities, run a 2025 call for proposals, select vendor‑supported projects for implementation and manage project awards and reporting through July 31, 2026.
