A western county community is going to be much more prepared for a wildfire if it hits there community. The Big Oak Street Tenders- a group of residents in a community neighboring Smartsville was awarded a 51,000 dollar State Fire Assistance grant through the California Fire Safe Council. Jenn Tamo with the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services says the award is the result of a true community effort.

But in order to get 51 thousand dollars they also had to do a lot of the physical work.

The match included the neighbors clearing five miles of roadway, and the funds are being used to hire a contractor to clear the rest.
The clearing meets the requirements of the County Vegetation Management Ordinance- clearing 10 feet on either side of the roadway and 15 feet up from the ground.

Tamo says that he Big Oak tree Tenders is a great model and encourages other communities to do the same. For more information you can contact the Office of Emergency Services as well as the California Fire Safe Council and the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County.