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Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience, a division of the Chief Administrative Office, with sponsorship by Supervisor Turnboo and Supervisor Laine, recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign a Proclamation recognizing the period of April through October 2025 as Wildfire Awareness Season.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In April 2024, the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience (OWPR) received a request for the Board to adopt a proclamation recognizing May through October 2024 as the Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Campaign, an annual multi-agency educational effort in the Tahoe Basin. As this initiative aligned with OWPR’s mission to create a fire adapted and resilient El Dorado County, staff presented the Board with the proclamation recognizing the period of May through October 2024 as Wildfire Awareness Season, expanding these efforts to a countywide level. The Board adopted this proclamation on May 21, 2024, and OWPR subsequently launched a coordinated public outreach campaign. This effort emphasized key wildfire preparedness actions, including defensible space, home hardening, evacuation readiness, and community awareness, building upon previous efforts alongside the Tahoe Basin’s Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness campaign.
Recent wildfires in El Dorado County, including the Mosquito, Caldor, King, and Crozier fires, have demonstrated the increasing size and severity of wildfires and their significant impacts on the County’s environment, economy, and life safety of residents. Addressing this growing threat requires a collaborative commitment from all agencies, organizations, communities, and residents to become fire-adapted and better prepared for future wildfires.
State and local fire agencies, partner organizations, the County, and community members recognize wildfire as the greatest risk to El Dorado County. This recognition is reflected in key planning documents, including the County’s General Plan Safet...
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