Fire Safe Council announces 2023 grant program

SAN DIEGO – The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County hosted its 16th annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony in Poway Wednesday, May 31, honoring several notable individuals and agencies who go above and beyond in creating fire safe and resilient communities. During the event, the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation presented 18 local, community-based Fire Safe Councils with a total of $123,610 in grants to help prevent and prepare for wildfires.

Funding was provided by San Diego Gas & Electric, San Diego Regional Fire Foundation and the San Diego River Conservancy through the governor’s Wildfire Early Action Plan.

“Every community is unique and has different needs – these local Fire Safe Councils and the amazing volunteers who run them – work within their communities to provide services and programs that bring great benefits at a relatively low cost. We are so thrilled to celebrate these volunteers and recognize their efforts through the volunteer awards and SAFE grants,” Ann Baldridge, executive director of the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County and vice president of the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County, said.

Fire Safe Councils are community-led, volunteer-based organizations with a mission to protect homes and communities from wildfires. The organizations provided with the grants assist their respective communities through a wide-range of activities, including fire-hardening homes, removing flammable plantings, hosting wood chipping events, installing signage, educating and assisting neighbors with emergency preparedness and more.

“Our support of all San Diego County Fire departments helps extinguish fires quickly, minimizing the loss of life and property from wildfires. Better yet, what if we could prevent fires in the first place? That is what our grants to our county fire safe councils accomplish as these citizen volunteers take these funds and educate our residents and do the hard work of clearing dead trees, bushes and other debris from our roadsides, canyons and anywhere a fire might start,” Joan Jones, executive director of the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, said.

The Fire Safe Councils that received a grant award include Palomar Mountain and Fallbrook.

“The safety of our customers, employees and the communities we serve is of the utmost importance at SDG&E,” Brian D’Agostino, SDG&E vice president of wildfire and climate science of SDG&E, said. “SDG&E has made wildfire prevention and preparedness central to our mission of providing clean, safe and reliable energy to our customers. We recognize that preparedness is also a community-wide effort and supporting Fire Safe Councils, as part of SDG&E’s SAFE San Diego Grant Program, helps to address specific community needs for the information and resources to help prevent and prepare for wildfires.”

The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County is administered by the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County and governed by a board of directors that includes representatives from local, state, federal and tribal fire agency partners. The FSCSDC provides programs and services to further fire prevention, education, and safety throughout the county and encourage community involvement.

The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County is a countywide facilitator of communication, cooperation and collaboration. Visit http://www.firesafesdcounty.org and https://www.sdgenews.com/ for more information.

Submitted by San Diego Gas & Electric.