El Dorado County Fire Safe Council

Our Mission
The mission of EI Dorado County Fire Safe Council is to protect the people of EI Dorado County and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire through education, cooperation, innovation and action.
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Message from the Chairperson

January 2022

2021

  • While the Caldor Fire challenged all of us as individuals, fire safe councils, and communities, our communities clearly came together as one when it really mattered. The EDCFSC is also committed to the recovery efforts, participating in the Caldor Fire Emergency Forest Restoration Team, led by the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the El Dorado Resource Conservation District (RCD).
  • The EDCFSC, Texas Hill and Sierra Springs Fire Safe Councils, and our partners at CAL FIRE and the RCD hosted the California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to look at fire safe projects on the ground and discuss the challenges with obtaining insurance in fire-prone areas.
  • Sandridge, Diamond Springs and Strawberry were welcomed as new community Fire Safe Councils, bringing the total number of Fire Safe Councils to 26.
  • Through grants from CAL FIRE and the Forest Service, we were successful in securing over $1 million for the Community Chipping Program.  This will support valuable work for our residents over the next several years.
  • Due to generous grants from PG&E, SMUD, and others, the Defensible Space Program for Seniors, Veterans, and Low-Income Residents is now over $100,000, helping more deserving community members than ever.
  • The EDCFSC and Diamond Springs-El Dorado Firefighters Association have partnered to make the Firefighter Hall in Diamond Springs the new permanent home of the EDCFSC and meetings are now hybrid: in-person and remote.

2022 promises to be a very busy and productive year.

  • The EDCFSC has been included as a member of the Vegetation Management and Resiliency Working Group, commissioned by the Board of Supervisors in September as a result of the Caldor Fire. We are playing a key role in enhancing the coordination and collaboration between agencies and organizations across El Dorado County.
  • We are supporting many of the community and Associate Councils as the fiscal sponsor and/or providing technical assistance for the CAL FIRE Fire Prevention and Forest Health Grant Program applications.
  • The update to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which is the foundation for fire safe projects throughout the western slope of El Dorado County, is on schedule to be completed early in the year.

The impacts of wildland fire on our communities in California will clearly continue to become more extreme.  I am committed to helping us find new opportunities and work with our partners to better prepare our communities in El Dorado County to be fire safe and resilient.

Ken Pimlott, Chair