The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) announced Oct. 7 that CalFire has awarded a new $1,456,579 Fire Prevention Grant to the council. The grants from CalFire will support four priority wildfire mitigation and public safety projects in the Santa Clara Unit.
Two of the grant-funded projects are in South County: the East Dunne Avenue Escape Route Project and the Mount Madonna/Summit Road Escape Route and Fuel Break Project, says a press release from the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.
For the East Dunne project, the grant provides funding to complete pre-implementation of environmental compliance documents and roadside fuel treatment, says the press release. The planning and environmental compliance supports the implementation of three phases of the project along East Dunne Avenue, at Holiday Drive to the entrance of Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill, “with the objective to protect life and property in the Holiday Lakes Estates, Jackson Oaks, and Anderson Lake County Park, and Finley Ridge communities by reducing the risk of wildfires,” says the press release.
Grant funds for the Mount Madonna/Summit Road Escape Route and Fuel Break Project will support ongoing vegetation management efforts. The project is located along the Santa Clara and Santa Cruz county line, and sectioned into five phases.
The FireSafe Council has previously completed phases one and two, says the press release. The new grant provides funding to implement phase three, which consists of a stretch of about six miles along Summit Road.
“The immediate goal is to clear hazardous vegetation up to 50 feet from the road-edge removing roadside fuel that could fall and block the roadway or would make the roadway extremely hot and unsafe to travel on for safe egress in the event of a fire and reduce roadside fire escaping into the wildland,” says the press release. “There are several key communities, tourist sites and infrastructures that run along the road, such as the Mount Madonna Fire Station, Ormsby Fire Station, Mount Madonna Retreat Center, Mount Madonna School, Vietnamese Sangha Congregation, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, wineries and a golf course that are prioritized for protection.”
