Hazard Mitigation

The Office of Emergency Services (OES) continued to actively seek and secure grant funding and to implement grant funded projects that support wildfire mitigation.

Highlights from Q1 (January-March 2023) include:

• In partnership with Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, began work on the South County Shaded Fuel Break Project, a 339-acre, 150-foot-wide roadway shaded fuel break funded by CAL FIRE.
• In partnership with Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, completed work on two Phase 1 FEMA Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Defensible Space Projects totaling $1.3 million dollars.
• Was awarded $256,039 in FEMA funds for Phase 1 (planning) of the Ponderosa West Grass Valley Extension Project.
• Was awarded $214,666 in Sierra Nevada Conservancy funds for Phase 1 (planning) of the South Yuba Rim Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project.
• Was awarded $250,000 in Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) funding for the Nevada County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update Project.
• Submitted a $3.9 million proposal to CAL FIRE for the Woodpecker Ravine Shaded Fuel Break Phase 2 Project, a 726-acre project that will leverage and extend the Woodpecker Ravine Phase 1 Shaded Fuel Break Project.
• Supported Truckee Fire Protection District in submitting a $5 million proposal to CAL FIRE for the multi-jurisdictional Nevada and Placer County Cooperative Landscape Resilience Project.
• Collaborated with local NGO Sierra Streams Institute in submitting a $2.4 million grant to the Wildlife Conservation Board for the Jones Bar Forest Resilience Project. 
• Released RFPs for the Nevada County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update (funded by CWDG), the Evacuation Study (funded by CAL FIRE), and the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (funded by FEMA)

The Nevada County Defensible Space (DSI) Program continued to support residents of Nevada County in meeting defensible space objectives on private property with more education than ever because the Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Defensible Space Project is education-based.

Highlights from Q1 (January-March 2023) include:

• Opened 32 cases. 
• Supported compliance with defensible space objectives: 5 cases came into compliance on the first visit, 17 came into compliance after the notice to abate was sent, 5 came into compliance after a warning letter was sent, 0 after the first citation, 3 after the second citation and 3 after the third citation. 14 cases were complaint driven and 12 were proactive cases. 
• Saw a 55% compliance rate.
• Saw a 24% education rate. *Educational Rate: The percent of complaint based and pro-active cases with hazardous vegetation violations that achieve compliance with the Nevada County Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance prior to being issued an administrative citation. The goal is 80%.
• Referred 0 cases to the Code Compliance Department.
• In partnership with Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, worked to meet Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Defensible Space Project goals by completing 64 pre- and post-inspections for Phase I and qualifying over 460 property owners for Phase 2 under two FEMA grants (4344 and 4353).
• Conducted 365 pre-inspections for Phase 2 of the Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Defensible Space Project.
• Completed an estimated total of 553 inspections between the two FEMA grants and cases (several inspections that have yet to be entered into Accela). 
• Conducted an online survey and sought stakeholder feedback for potential alterations to the Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance. The information gathered was summarized and culminated in a presentation to the Board of Supervisors where recommendations were made in December 2022. The Defensible Space team was scheduled to present the revised Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance to the Board of Supervisors on February 28, 2023, however the presentation was moved to March 28, 2023 as the presenters were engaged in the EOC for the 2023 Winter Storm.

The Office of Emergency Services (OES) worked to provide vital Green Waste Programming to County residents. 

Highlights from Q1 (January-March 2023) include:

• Partnered with Fire Safe Council of Nevada County to identify dates and coordinate necessary permitting to hold free community Green Waste Events in April, May, and June, supporting residents in recovering from the Winter Storm of 2023 and simultaneously preparing for wildfire season by removing down vegetation from their land.