Millions In Federal Fire Dollars Coming To Tuolumne County

Sonora, CA — The County of Tuolumne, the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and TUD are among 100 entities in 22 states receiving a share of $200-million in wildfire defense grant dollars.

The allocations announced yesterday are from the federal infrastructure bill.

Tuolumne County will receive $10-million to help provide defensible space work around 1,290 homes, vegetation management along 23 miles of local roads, and outreach to create additional Firewise communities.

The Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians is being awarded $315,000 for fuel reduction projects within their Tribal and adjacent lands. The money will also allow for training in cultural and traditional fire management techniques through a partnership with Hoopa Valley Tribal Council.

TUD will get just under $250,000 to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan to prevent fire from impacting its water infrastructure.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says in a statement, “These grants will help to ensure that local communities, especially low-income and tribal communities, have the tools they need to keep communities safe, and that we are working together in the right places and at the right scale to confront this crisis.”