Final funding has been obtained for a critical wildfire mitigation project in Nevada County. Cal Fire has awarded a three-point-nine million dollar grant for Phase Two of the so-called Woodpecker Ravine Shaded Fuel Break. County Office of Emergency Services Senior Administrative Analyst, Alex Keeble-Toll, says they received two-point-one million dollars for Phase One. She says that covers a portion of the local match that also allows them to plug into FEMA’s even larger Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program. Woodpecker Ravine covers a total of 11-hundred-36 acres. It’s located east of Empire Mine State Park, west of South Wolf Creek, north of Alta Sierra, and south of Highway 174…

click to listen to Alex Keeble-Toll

Firewise Communities include Osborne Hill, the Rattlesnake Neighborhood Association and Ridge Estates, Lower Colfax, Casa Loma, and part of the Alta Sierra Property Owners Association…

click to listen to Alex Keeble-Toll

Keeble-Toll says the planning process is expected to begin next year, that includes environmental impact reports and obtaining landowners’ permission. The actual work should begin in 2025 and will take several years to complete.