Napa Communities Firewise Foundatio N

In cooperation with partners throughout Napa County, the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation (NCFF) has built a comprehensive Wildfire Resilience Action Program (WRAP) with the aim of reducing the risks and impacts of catastrophic wildfires on life and livelihoods throughout Napa County. We are working to create wildfire adapted communities actively engaging residents, organizations, and jurisdictional authorities; engendering a culture of shared responsibility; and empowering people with information and resources to share the collective responsibility for for creating longterm wildfire resilience.

The Napa County WRAP requires funding of nearly $400 million to put in place a comprehensive Fire Prevention Strategy which addresses the backlog of hundreds of fuel reduction projects in both burned and unburned areas of Napa County and maintains the work for the future. The WRAP includes detailed fuel mitigation projects that reduce the risks and impacts of wildfire at the commercial, residential and community level; incorporates protection of the public and critical infrastructure; and address fiscal, permitting, and operational requirements. Most importantly the WRAP contemplates a multi-source funding strategy that leverages local funding and donations to access critical matching dollars from state and federal agencies in order to complete the work.

The County Wildfire Resilience Program Action Plan prioritizes:

Community Outreach and Education through our 24 County Fire Safe Councils and the Pre-Fire Working Group of partner organizations

County and Limited Access Roads – Shaded Fuel Breaks in every fire complex (Nuns/Glass, Tubbs/Glass, Angwin/Glass, Atlas/Lightning)

Strategic Landscape/Topographical Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction Projects

Residential Perimeter Fuel Breaks

Protection of Infrastructure/Water Systems

Environmental Compliance

Project Maintenance

Residential Wildfire Risk Assessments

Residential Defensible Space and Home Hardening Assistance

FORESTS AND ECOSYSTEMS ARE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS AND MUST BE TENDED AND MANAGED TO REMAIN HEALTHY

Unmanaged forests and dense vegetation cover increases fire hazard and wildfire severity that threatens their recovery especially when stressed by drought, overgrowth, invasive species, pest infestations, and long term suppression of natural fire cycles.

WILDFIRE MITIGATION IS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE

NCFF is advocating for ongoing funding to consistently provide the public with the essential service of Fire Prevention and Hazardous Fuel Mitigation, similar to other services such as Roads, Police, and Firefighting.

THE BACKLOG OF DEFERRED MITIGATION AND MAINTENANCE POSES AN INCREASING THREAT TO LIFE AND LIVELIHOODS THAT WILL IMPACT PUBLIC AND ECOLOGICAL HEALTH AND THE ECONOMY

NCFF is addressing decades of deferred hazardous fuel reduction mitigation and maintenance throughout Napa County with a portfolio of community sourced projects in a comprehensive Countywide Wildfire Prevention Plan.

The fire hazard prevention vegetation management work that has been done to date serves as a type of green infrastructure that requires ongoing maintenance.

OVER HALF OF NAPA COUNTY BURNED BETWEEN 2017-2020 LEAVING BURN SCARS THAT REQUIRE ACTIVE MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

NCFF is providing educational resources and referrals to private landowners to restore burn scars, and is partnering with other organizations to promote, fund, and conduct forest health and restoration projects.