Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildfire Resilience topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lassen County Fire Safe Council secures extension and $140,000 to expand wildfire‑resilience coordination
Summary
The Lassen Fire Safe Council presented an extended wildfire county coordinator program funded by CalFire and the California Fire Safe Council, with roughly $140,000 allocated over 15 months to support CWPP updates, volunteer fire department training, defensible‑space assistance and youth career pathways.
The Lassen County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation June 9 from the Lassen Fire Safe Council on the county wildfire coordinator program and voted to receive the update.
Tanya Smith, the county wildfire resiliency coordinator, told supervisors the program — funded by CalFire through California Climate Investments and administered by the California Fire Safe Council — focuses on coordination, grants, GIS mapping, community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) work and support for volunteer fire departments. "The county coordinator role is fundamentally about connection, connecting communities to resources and connecting agencies to each other," Smith said.
Lassen was among counties receiving continued funding; Smith said the current extension covers 15 months (through Oct. 2027) and that the program received roughly $140,000 to continue operations locally. The extension emphasizes standardizing training and qualifications across volunteer fire departments, improving mutual‑aid readiness, updating the CWPP, and developing youth career pathways in fire and forestry professions.
In questions and answers, volunteer fire department chiefs and supervisors asked whether the program would fund insurance, equipment or training. Smith said the coordinator role itself is largely staff funding but can help secure grants and has a community fund (seeded by Dixie Fire interest proceeds) that has supported radios and will prioritize volunteer fire departments. The coordinator also reported nearly $1 million remaining in a countywide defensible‑space assistance program that prioritizes seniors and other vulnerable residents.
The board welcomed the update and asked staff to keep supervisors informed as the program develops recommendations for a County Fire Advisory Committee and further grant opportunities.
What's next: The Fire Safe Council will return with recommendations about advisory committees, CWPP updates and grant‑ready projects.
