Tuolumne County residents are asked to help with a wildfire planning program. Here’s how.
Residents of Tuolumne County can contribute to a community wildfire protection plan at a series of meetings beginning this Friday.
The Tuolumne Fire Safe Council, a nonprofit, will host four workshops to develop a community wildfire protection plan, or CWPP. The first workshop will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Twain Harte Bible Church. Stakeholders, including residents, can help develop the CWPP, which will determine priorities for wildfire protection.
“We want this to be a plan that is developed with community input,” Diane Bennett, executive coordinator of the council, said. “We’re getting community input from the front end.”
Bennett noted the importance of getting residents, business owners and others involved early in the planning process because “they know their needs.” At the event, residents can learn about the history of fires in Tuolumne County before breaking out into groups to identify priorities and risks.
The council is also working with the Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services.
After a wet winter earlier this year, increased vegetation growth is expected to be a problem this fire season.
Tuesday morning, the Sonora Police Department posted on Facebook about a vegetation fire on the 300 block of Lyons Street. Four homes were evacuated as a precaution.
For at least a couple of hours, roads in the area were closed as Sonora City Fire, Cal Fire, and Tuolumne County Fire put out the blaze.
The Fire Safe Council’s second and third workshops will both be at Tioga High School in Groveland, first at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 22, and later at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 28. The last workshop will take place on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Elks Lodge in Sonora.
A consultant from Jensen Hughes, an engineering and consulting firm, will be present at this weekend’s two workshops.
Bennett said that there will likely be more workshops in October when a draft of the CWPP is expected to be available.
Bennett noted that council is receiving funding through Cal Fire’s Fire Prevention Program, which is part of the California Climate Investments Program, and Tuolumne County.
