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Community Wildfire Protection Plans
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Community Wildfire Protection Plans

What: A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a community plan to reduce the risk of wildfire. The plan identifies strategic sites and methods for fuel reduction projects.

Why: Benefits of Community Wildfire Protection Plans to the community include:

  1. Communities can help determine the appropriate boundaries for the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) covered in their CWPP.

  2. Communities with CWPPs are given priority for Federal grants for projects to reduce hazardous fuels.

  3. Federal Agencies can use alternative environmental compliance options to expedite fuel reduction projects identified in CWPPs.

  4. Communities can organize projects, based on CWPPs, to build fuel breaks and reduce hazardous fuels without federal funding.

How: The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council received a federal grant from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in early 2006 to develop CWPPs. The BLM is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the grant is administered by the California Fire Safe Council. SCFSC used this federal funding, plus local matching funding from companies and individuals, to develop CWPPs for the Croy Fire Area west of Morgan Hill and Gilroy and for the East Foothills east of San Jose.

Table of Contents

Croy Fire Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan

East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Lexington Hills Community Wildfire Protection Plan (Separate Page)  << New

CWPP References and Resources

Click here for a summary of the SCFSC CWPP Development (PDF file).
Click here for more on SCFSC Community Wildfire Protection Plans (PDF file).
Click here for more on Community Wildfire Protection Plans on the California Fire Alliance Web Site.

Croy Fire Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Croy Fire, September 25, 2002 (Photos provided by CAL FIRE. If you know who took them, please let us know so we
can credit the photographers. E-mail Fire Captain Nick Ciardella at Nick.Ciardella@fire.ca.gov or call (408) 206-3704.)

Ten field survey trips were made and field survey forms complied for the Croy Fire Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The public draft of this CWPP can be downloaded using the link below.

Croy Fire Area CWPP Press Release (PDF File)

SCFSC Press Release inviting public comments on the Croy Fire Area CWPP.

Croy Fire Area CWPP Presentation (PDF File)

A Public Draft summary of the Croy Fire Area CWPP. Questions and comments are welcome!

Croy Fire Area  Public Draft CWPP - Executive Summary (PDF File)

Cover pages and Executive Summary of the Croy Fire Area CWPP below.

Croy Fire Area Public Draft CWPP (Big PDF File)

Public Draft of the Croy Fire Area CWPP. Questions and comments are welcome!

The following attachments are distributed separately.  Attachments A-1 through A-3 are described below.

Attachment A-1: “Taming Natural Disasters,” Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area (PDF File). 

Attachment A-2: Santa Clara County Annex to Attachment B-1 (PDF File).

Attachment A-3: Santa Clara County Infrastructure Mitigation Strategies for Attachments B-1 and B-2 (PDF File).

Attachment B: Santa Clara County 2001 Fire Code Amendments (PDF File).

Please e-mail questions or comments to Fire Captain Nick Ciardella at Nick.Ciardella@fire.ca.gov or call (408) 206-3704.

East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Suncrest Avenue Fire near Alum Rock Park, Sept. 24, 2006

The Morning After – Note the Defensible Space for this home

(Photos by Richard Brown)

Six field survey trips, eight reports and 20 field survey forms were completed for the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The public draft of this CWPP can be downloaded using the link below.

Two articles have been published on this CWPP in New Neighborhood Voice, a community newsletter for the East Foothills area. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2. These articles are written in an easy-to-read Q&A format. "Judy" is the editor of New Neighborhood Voice and her husband "Allan" is the Project Manager for the East Foothills CWPP.

East Foothills CWPP Press Release (PDF File)

SCFSC Press Release inviting public comments on the East Foothills CWPP.

East Foothills CWPP Presentation (PDF File)

A Public Draft summary of the East Foothills CWPP. Questions and comments are welcome!

East Foothills Public Draft CWPP - Executive Summary (PDF File)

Cover pages and Executive Summary of the East Foothills CWPP below.

East Foothills Public Draft CWPP (Big PDF File)

Public Draft of the East Foothills CWPP. Questions and comments are welcome!

The following attachments are distributed separately.  Attachments B-1 through B-3 are described below.

Attachment B-1: “Taming Natural Disasters,” Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area (PDF File). 

Attachment B-2: Santa Clara County Annex to Attachment B-1 (PDF File).

Attachment B-3: Santa Clara County Infrastructure Mitigation Strategies for Attachments B-1 and B-2 (PDF File).

Attachment C: Santa Clara County 2001 Fire Code Amendments (PDF File).

Please e-mail questions or comments to Allan Thompson at AllanT@SCCFireSafe.org or call (408) 272-7008.

CWPP References and Resources

Living With Fire in Santa Clara County, A 20-page Guide for Homeowners

CDF Santa Clara Unit Fire Management Plan, 2005 (Big PDF File)

The Santa Clara Unit Fire Management Plan documents the assessment of the fire situation in the unit, includes stakeholder contributions and priorities, and identifies strategic targets for pre-fire solutions as defined by the people who live and work with the local fire problem.

ABAG Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area

Santa Clara County is part of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), which sponsored the preparation of Federally-Mandated Local Hazard Mitigation Plans in this area. These plans consider wildfires as well as other natural disasters. Santa Clara County has adopted “Taming Natural Disasters,” the ABAG Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Santa Clara County Annex to this plan. The Santa Clara County plan was approved by FEMA on April 24, 2005.

“Taming Natural Disasters,” Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area (PDF File).

Santa Clara County Annex to ABAG Plan (PDF File).

Santa Clara County Infrastructure Mitigation Strategies for ABAG Plan (PDF File).
Updated 5/28/08

Funding provided by a National Fire Plan grant from the Bureau of Land Management through the California Fire Safe Council. Our Community Outreach, Education and Youth programs and other council activities are also funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program and by grants and donations from local agencies, companies, foundations, organizations and individual donors. Please see our Thank You! and About Us pages for a list of donors and contributors.

The views and conclusions on this Web site are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government.