The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors recently approved a plan for Con Fire to apply for upwards of $5 million in grants for a firebreak project, reports danvillesanramon.com.
The CCCFPD Lafayette/Walnut Creek Shaded Fuel Break project aims to further the Moraga-Orinda fire district’s efforts to protect against southern wildfire threats, the report says. That district finished its 16-mile, $6.3 million firebreak in 2021.
This plan is to extend from where that project left off and go another two miles in Moraga, into Lafayette, up through East Bay Parks, and around in a horseshoe manner around Rossmoor, officials say. The break would extend another 12 miles and protect approximately 10,000 residents, the report says.
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The tree canopy formed by healthy trees would remain mostly intact, according to the report, but brush would be removed around trees from the ground up to six feet, and the break would be 100 feet wide.
Officials say the grant application will be sent Wednesday, and, if approved, the requisite environmental studies and permits would begin right away; the project is expected to take two to three years.
Con Fire also says that much of the exterior work on Bay Point’s Station 86 project is done and workers are currently painting the interior, the report says. Grounds work is about to commence, and officials note crews could occupy the building by fall.
The environmental approval process for Pacheco’s Station 9 has been hindered by drainage issues, according to the report.