KERN COUNTY, Calif., The Kern County Fire Department is pleased to announce it has been awarded a Cal Fire Wildfire Prevention Grant totaling over 3 million dollars. The need for this funding is vitally important as we work to prepare communities against the devastating impacts of wildfires.
The benefits of proactively reducing hazards have clearly been seen in our local communities during recent wildfires. At the Beale Fire, firefighters noted that their efforts to protect homes would likely have been unsuccessful if residents had not maintained defensible space around their homes. On the Tecuya Fire, the “Tecuya Shaded Fuel Break” was a critical tool used by firefighters in their fire suppression strategy.
There are approximately 60 existing fuel breaks maintained by the KCFD that protect numerous communities including Tehachapi, Frazier Park, Lake Isabella, and 25 other communities at risk from wildfires. This grant will provide funding to help maintain the existing system of KCFD fuel breaks.
We are grateful for programs that exist to support hazardous fuels reduction and wildfire prevention planning and education. This grant is a direct investment into the protection of Kern County communities, and we are thankful to have been selected to receive it.
