Wildfire Prevention

Keeping Fire on the Landscape: Maintaining Carbon Balance and Forest Resilience

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

At the University of California’s Blodgett Forest Research Station in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, the long running Fire and Fire Surrogate study has provided critical information to forest managers and landowners on the use of prescribed fire and restoration thinning. With a $454,772 grant from California Climate Investments through the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Forest Health Research Program, Dr. John Battles, Dr. Scott Stephens, and other researchers are continuing this important work with an eye towards understanding the value of repeated application of fuel reduction treatments on Sierra Nevada mixed‑conifer forests. Forest managers and landowners throughout the state and beyond will be able to use the results of this study to inform their management actions and policy decisions in the face of warming climate and increasing wildfires.

Suppressing Wildfire with Fuel Breaks in Elk Creek and Stonyford

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

The Elk Creek Fuel Break, one of the 35 emergency fuel reduction projects prioritized in the Governor’s 2019 Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Report, was completed in part with $325,000 in California Climate Investments funds. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection implemented the project to protect lives, property, and valuable agricultural resources in the communities of Elk Creek and Stonyford, which are adjacent to the Mendocino National Forest. During the 2020 Butte/Tehama/Glenn Lightning Complex Fire, the Elk Creek Fuel Break helped contain the fire with eight miles of fire line.

Reducing Fire Risk Through Hands-On Training Opportunities

California Conservation Corps

The California Conservation Corps, a state department within the California Natural Resources Agency, uses funds from California Climate Investments to complete projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across California. These funds target forest health projects, especially fuel load reduction where dead and dying trees, brush, and vegetation are removed to reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread. The McKay Community Forest Fuel Reduction project provided skilled labor to Humboldt County to minimize fire danger near communities on the southeastern edge of the City of Eureka.

California Climate Investments | Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work