February 27, 2004

Subject: Alameda and Contra Costa County’s Urban Wildland Interface Fire Action Plan

Dear NorCal Fire Prevention Officers:

The Diablo FireSafe Council (DFSC) requests your assistance in providing base information for the Alameda and Contra Costa County urban wildland interface (UWI) fire action plan.

What is a regional UWI Fire Action Plan?

The overall goal of the document is to identify regional priorities for projects to reduce urban wildland interface fire hazards. The planning process will encourage collaboration, recognizing that while each city, county and agency is responsible for their own jurisdiction, wildland fire does not respect those boundaries. By compiling the various local plans we can identify joint agency projects to protect our communities from devastating UWI fires. This will allow our region and the DFSC to continue to seek funding to leverage local funds.

Why should you participate in a regional UWI fire action plan?

The development of the Alameda and Contra Costa UWI Fire Action Plan is timely because future federal funding is increasingly becoming linked to community-wide partnerships.

• Over the past three years, the National Fire Plan has made funds available for cities and counties to become active participants. Diablo FireSafe Council, a local non-profit 501(c)(3), has been an regional advocate to bring these competitive funds into the region.
• As funding becomes increasingly limited the National Fire Plan is giving preference to regions with adopted action plans. The DFSC is looking to compile the local policies and documents into a regional plan to enable our partners to continue to receive federal funding.
• The plan will include a list of projects and necessary funding. In the last three years DFSC has successfully procured over $200,000 from Bureau of Land Management and $160,000 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for local partners.

The UWI fire action plan also is intended to support local multi-hazard planning efforts in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). Included will be relevant components that can be folded into the wildland fire portions of your DMA 2000 planning.

Help identify a pilot fuel reduction project

In addition to the action plan, DFSC has received funds to support two pilot projectsin the two county area. As we compile each jurisdiction’s assessment of assets at risk, locate the areas of greatest threat and possible mitigation strategies the DFSC will be looking for potential projects that can be completed this fire season. An application is included for distribution to your local groups. Additional application will be posted on our website www.diablofiresafe.org.

What we need from you

We need any formally adopted recognition of your UWI fire hazards and mitigation strategies. This can be in the form of general policies, design guidelines, ordinances or even descriptions of unfunded projects. Please send us copies of any of the relevant documents:

• Identification of your UWI fire hazards through ordinances, special district overlays, zoning or general plan documents.
• General Plan Safety Elements
• Economic Development Plans that include UWI fire issues
• Community Fire Protection Plans/ Fire Plans/ Existing Fire Risk Assessments
• Disaster Mitigation Act 2000 documents.

If you have no formally adopted information, it would be helpful to have informal documentation of your jurisdiction’s principal areas of concern. We encourage your involvement throughout the planning process and will make the draft document available for review.

Time Frame of Plan

February – May 2003 Planning and data collection

April – June 2003 Summarize available information

June – Oct 2003 Award and complete pilot fuel reduction projects

June – Sept 2003 Draft Fire Action Plan and confer with regulatory agencies

October 2003 Circulate Draft for Review

November 2003 Complete Plan

We appreciate your help with this project. Please mail information to: Diablo FireSafe Council 1404 Franklin St #300 Oakland, CA 94612 or via email amphion@value.net. For more information or to have your documents picked up call Amber Bach, Executive Coordinator DFSC (510) 893-9888.

Very Truly Yours

 Chief Rick Probert (ret. SRVFD)

Chair DFSC

Attch: Application for DFSC pilot fuel reduction projects

Diablo FireSafe News February 2004A final draft will be available if you would like to see it.