Region wins Community Wildfire Defense Grant to build countywide fuels‑removal system

Mono County and regional partners on Jan. 12 described a newly awarded Community Wildfire Defense Grant that will fund a coordinated program to remove hazardous fuels from community areas, create disposal and composting capacity, and invest in workforce development.

The regional plan — led through the Eastern Sierra Council of Governments and built with input from Firewise groups, county public works, tribes and state agencies — directs most funding toward creating a sustainable fuel‑removal system. Projected deliverables over five years include 1,250 free home‑hazard assessments, targeted treatments for about 200 high‑risk homes, roughly 340 community cleanup events, at least two towable chippers and a towable air‑curtain burner, public works staffing to chip and haul material, and construction of composting infrastructure.

“Community fuel removal is one of the primary foundational points,” Mono County wildfire coordinator Wendy Grzeski told the board, describing the grant’s emphasis on removing material from communities and building longer‑term disposal solutions.

Kristen Feiler, who helped develop the grant application, said the program is designed as a continuous cycle: assessment and education; local fuel‑reduction crews and community cleanups; and transport / processing of removed material into compost or other disposal streams. She said program designers targeted 34 community hubs across Mono and Inyo counties for initial implementation and built support for bakeries of local partners including tribal fuel crews, Mammoth Lakes Fire and county public works.

County staff said the grant also includes workforce development components — partnerships with Cerro Coso Community College and other training programs — to sustain crews after federal grant funds expire. The grant budget anticipates two full‑time equivalent positions for program coordination, equipment purchases, disposal fees and contractual support to plan long‑term sustainability.

Board members welcomed the regional approach and asked staff to keep supervisors informed about community meetings and pilot schedules; staff said procurement and subaward paperwork are under way and that chippers and equipment could be in the field by late spring.

What’s next: staff will finalize subaward agreements, select equipment vendors and coordinate site locations for compost or biomass processing; county public works will participate in community cleanups and pilot operations this year.