Title
Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience, a division of the Chief Administrative Office, recommending the Board:
1) Receive an annual update presentation by the Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience Coordination Group;
2) Receive and file the 2024 Annual Report from the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience; and
3) Approve and endorse the 2025 Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience Annual Work Plan.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On September 21, 2021 (Legistar file 21-1515), the Board directed the Chief Administrative Office (CAO) to convene an El Dorado County Vegetation Management and Resiliency Working Group to collaborate on lessons learned, define funding streams, and initiate a robust, community-based wildfire resiliency and vegetation management program that would accelerate current County efforts, and then return to the Board with recommendation for consideration. The CAO convened this working group in November 2021, consisting of representatives from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Amador-El Dorado Unit (CAL FIRE AEU), El Dorado County Fire Safe Council, El Dorado County and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), El Dorado County Fire Chiefs' Association, and El Dorado County Fire Prevention Officers' Association.
On March 22, 2022 (Legistar file 22-0491), the working group presented a set of recommendations to the Board, including the creation and implementation of a strategic wildfire protection strategy for El Dorado County as well as the establishment of a dedicated wildfire resilience office within the CAO to prioritize and coordinate efforts on a countywide level based on the wildfire strategy. With the Board’s approval of these recommended actions, the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience (OWPR) was established effective July 1, 2022. Additionally, the working group transitioned to a Wildfire Preparedness and Resilienc...
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