SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The California Fire Foundation (CFF), with support from The PG&E Corporation Foundation (The Foundation), has awarded a total of $730,000 in wildfire safety grants to 66 local fire departments, fire agencies and community groups. The grants will help communities bolster their disaster preparedness and response. Funding will be used to purchase personal protective and specialized equipment for firefighters, complete defensible space and vegetation management work, fuels and hazards reduction, and conduct fire safety public education and outreach. To see a full list of grantees click here.
The Foundation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) support CFF’s broader 2022 Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP) with $1.4 million in charitable funding. The program’s objective is to raise awareness about wildfire safety in more areas in California and bring resources to underserved communities in high fire-threat areas. The grants to local organizations are one core component of the WSPP.
“For the last few years, California has seen almost no relief in wildfire intensity and destruction,” said Rick Martinez, Executive Director of the California Fire Foundation. “These precious grant dollars can make the difference for fire departments and local organizations in protecting Californians.”
Since 2018, 265 fire departments and fire agencies statewide have received $3 million in direct funding through the grant program as part of WSPP, and each year the program receives more applications than the prior year. Funding targets specific communities identified as having extreme or elevated fire risk as identified by the California Public Utilities Commission High Fire-Threat District map.
“Preparing for and responding to California’s growing wildfire risk takes all of us working together. PG&E is using all of the tools at our disposal to prevent wildfires, and we encourage our customers and our hometowns to be prepared as well. We appreciate our ongoing partnership with the CFF, and are grateful for the opportunity to again help fund neighborhood resilience efforts of local fire departments and our hometowns against disasters like wildfires,” said Sumeet Singh, PG&E Executive Vice President, Chief Risk and Interim Chief Safety Officer.
The WSPP focuses on two key areas to help keep communities safe:
- A Wildfire Safety Campaign that features fire safety education, developed by CFF, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hmong to promote early evacuation during fires. The WSPP has worked hard to overcome language barriers by developing and distributing in-language fire-safety messaging. This campaign includes advertising on radio, television, and digital ads, and outdoor billboards in high fire-threat areas.
- A Grant Program administered by the CFF through an application process. The CFF awards grants to recipient fire departments, agencies and community groups in support of projects and programs focusing on wildfire/disaster prevention, preparedness and/or relief and recovery assistance.
How the WSPP Helps Communities
PG&E’s and The Foundation’s combined 2022 $1.4 million support of the WSPP continues a five-year collaboration with CFF. PG&E and The Foundation have provided $6 million in total support for fire safety awareness through the WSPP. The charitable contribution is shareholder-funded, not paid for by PG&E customers.
The CFF, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, aids firefighters, their families and the communities they protect. The CFF’s Firefighters on Your Side program, also supported by PG&E, provides multi-lingual, culturally relevant fire safety messaging in both digital and print form, to assist the public in staying safe.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
About California Fire Foundation
The California Fire Foundation, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, provides emotional and financial assistance to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect. Formed in 1987 by California Professional Firefighters, the California Fire Foundation’s mandate includes an array of survivor and victim assistance projects and community initiatives. cafirefoundation.org