Santa Cruz County secures $1 million grant for enhanced wildfire prevention measures

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — Santa Cruz County is making strides in wildfire prevention with a new $1 million grant from the state.

The focus is on improving wildfire safety and infrastructure. The grant comes four years after the CZU fires devastated the Santa Cruz mountains. The goal is to prevent that from happening again here.

Soquel - San Jose road is a major commuter route connecting to Summit road that is heavily vegetated and becomes a concern as temperatures rise .

"It’s concerning because we live in a place where it could be gone in a second and we seen it happen up north and we see it happen not too far from here," Joseph Hood, a resident of Santa Cruz County, said.

The state is allocating nearly $1 million to help improve wildfire mitigation efforts in the area.

The funding is part of a larger statewide project aimed at reducing fire risks.

The grant will be used for critical work along Soquel - San Jose road, which serves as a vital evacuation route in the area, including the 5.2 miles of hazardous fuel reduction treatment.

“The county and this central fire district gets on top of people to keep grass pretty short," said Soquel resident Christopher Irvine. "We try to keep the grasses down as much as possible, or will be cited by the County Fire Marshals for having a dangerous fire area."

CAL Fire says the goal is to protect neighborhoods and also provide quick access to fast moving fires for first responders.

"Good use of resources, given the high fire danger in the area and so I think $1 million is a good start towards helping mitigate fire dangers around here," said Irvine.

The grant will also provide an on-site chipping services for residents to have defensible space clearing efforts, helping reduce wildfire impacts to homes.