Fire Safe Sonoma gets $1 million through Kincade fire settlement

Fire Safe Sonoma, a community-based group that advocates for fire prevention, has received $1 million through the county’s new settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric over the 2019 Kincade fire.

The funds, which will be distributed over five years, were awarded to the community-based education group to help residents prepare for and mitigate wildfires. The settlement was announced Monday by Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch.

Fire Safe Sonoma will in turn provide funding to assist in neighborhood wildfire prevention and preparedness programs, according to a news release issued by the group Wednesday.

In addition, Fire Safe Sonoma, in conjunction with CalFire and Sonoma County’s Fire Prevention Division, has proclaimed May Wildfire Safety Awareness month.

With drought conditions worsening and temperatures rising, Fire Safe Sonoma said it is encouraging residents to get ready early for the possibility of wildfires. Among its efforts will be:

*Deploying a “Listos Trailer & Toolkit” in local communities for defensible space projects, education and tangible community projects on the ground.

*Continuing to assist four local community groups to draft local Community Wildfire Protection Plans.

*Providing Wildland Fire Assessment Project (WFAP) home wildfire risk assessments to 100 low-income households.

*Assisting with the 2022 Fire & Earthquake Safety Expo at the Citrus Fairgrounds in Cloverdale on May 1.

For information on how to prepare a “Ready, Set, Go!” Plan, residents may go to FireSafeSonoma.org.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.