To: Board of Supervisors
From: UC Cooperative Extension
Agenda Section: Departmental
SUBJECT:
title
Informational Report from UC Cooperative Extension about Wildfire and Home Resilience Research
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive an informational report from Cooperative Extension about their recent wildfire and home resilience research.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund
DISCUSSION:
Yana Valachovic, Director of Humboldt County's UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) office, also serves as the UCCE Forest Advisor and has been studying the North Bay Fires (2017, Sonoma County), the Carr Fire (2018, Shasta County) and Camp Fire (2018, Butte County) with the intent to learn how to help build community wildfire resiliency. She has collected information about key factors that are contributing to the high rates of home losses from these events. She has recommended actions that can help with fire resiliency at local and regional levels.
There are multiple legislative efforts in development to address some of these challenges. AB 1516 (Friedman) seeks to address greater refinement of defensible space code. AB 38 (Wood) seeks to provide a low-interest loan program to help homeowners retrofit their homes to meet new fire construction guidance. SB 462 (Stern) seeks to help in workforce development and community fire education. These bills can be supported through the county's legislative platform titled "Emergency and disaster preparedness assistance."
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
N/A
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This report supports your Board's Strategic Framework by 1) providing for opportunities for improved safety and health, 2) protecting vulnerable communities, and 3) supporting the self-reliance of citizens.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Cooperative Extension Forest Advisor position is jointly funded by the University of California, the Humboldt County, and the US Department of Agriculture.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMME...
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