Santa Clara Co.: County Approves Plan For Wildfire Prevention Project Alony Skyline Boulevard

Bay City News

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to reduce hazardous fuels on a 16-mile corridor on Skyline Boulevard, located between Black Road in Los Gatos in the south and Page Mill Road in Palo Alto in the north. The plan is part of the Highway 35 Hazardous Fuels Reduction Wildfire Mitigation Project.

This portion of Skyline Boulevard serves about 5,000 residents and 2,703 structures, and is a popular commute route between San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, according to a Friday press release.

"This stretch of highway has a real risk of wildfire spread because of the grasses, bushes, and overhanging trees along the road right-of-way," said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, whose district includes the entirety of the Central County Fire Protection District territories. "Dead brush and trees increase the risk."

The project will be funded, in part, by $542K in federal funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) awarded to Santa Clara County. The grant program requires that the county match 10% of the funds, equalling about $57,046. The match requirement will be met using County Fire staff time, according to the press release.

The Highway 35 Hazardous Fuels Reduction Wildfire Mitigation Project plans to remove hazardous trees and reduce hazardous vegetation along the 16-mile

"This project builds on an already robust fuels reduction effort in this mountain community, and has the added benefit of protecting a heavily traveled ridgeline road, which is critical in an evacuation," Simitian said.

Simitian represents Santa Clara County District Five, which includes Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Saratoga, Stanford, portions of San Jose and unincorporated communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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