Community Wildfire Protection Plans

Communities are able to put their knowledge and values into a CWPP. This means having self-defined boundaries and working collaboratively to identify projects that are prioritized based on what’s important to each community. These plans open doors to funding sources or partners to then implement the projects.

Because of the nature of wildfire, actions taken as a group or community are more effective than actions taken by just one person or household. There are many ways that an individual or family can prepare for a wildfire and even more ways to take action as a community. One way to think about this is three main project types: 1) Fuel modifications or vegetation management that can include grazing, brush removal, protecting critical places like water sources,  or restoration of a more fire-adapted ecosystem 2) people-based solutions that can include outreach, localized planning or events that promote fire resilience or methods on how to share resources 3) Emergency response that can help prepare for the event of a wildfire like evacuation planning, increasing resources to firefighters, or creating locations where firefighters can stage defensive actions.

Part of the CWPP process is looking through existing plans and regulations and seeing where there are opportunities and overlap between projects and priorities. By identifying the crossover of your CWPP with other plans and regulations, you can find overlap that can help leverage actions and priorities.  One common example is a Hazard Mitigation Plan where recommended actions related to fire mitigation will be referenced in a CWPP or vice versa. For example, a Hazard Mitigation Plan might identify an important evacuation route for all types of disaster. This route can be included in the both plans but with different actions that compliment creating a safer roadway in both plans.

NFPA Firewise Recognition is a separate program from the CWPP. Where NFPA Firewise really focuses on structures (home hardening) and defensible space at a neighborhood level, a CWPP zooms out to look at larger scale projects and often include projects from land management agencies or fire departments. The good news is that these two efforts can work really well together and can be pursued at the same time.  Becoming Firewise recognized can even be a project listed in CWPP’s and parts of a CWPP can be part of the 3-year action plan for a Firewise community.

In developing a CWPP, we will work closely with agencies, non-profits, and local organizations to make sure we are coordinating efforts and being as effective as possible without duplicating efforts. Examples include: working with neighborhood groups including HOA’s and NFPA Firewise communities, having regular meetings with county leadership on the CWPP progress, and integrating ongoing work as projects into our CWPP.

The CWPP will focus on projects that are collaborative and make a larger-scale impact than just one property. In many cases, projects will need property owners to do their part and advocate for work that will increase fire safety at a neighborhood scale. For actions that you can do on your own property,  especially around your own home, explore resources from NFPA Firewise or Nevada Division of Forestry’s Wildfire Preparedness web site.

Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG) help communities and Tribes plan for and reduce wildfire risk and implement the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. This is the funding source most often used to create, update, and implement CWPP’s.