Colfax Community Watershed and
Fire Safe Ecosystem Project

You can read about the project, at a summary level, on the Pilot Project pages.

The threat of wildfire to life, property, and the ecosystems of the Sierra foothills has a major impact on the State of California. This pilot project was developed to address the need for communities to organize and become proactive in fire safety, specifically to reduce the fire fuel load of dense vegetation in the forest. Read more in the Problem: Fire in California section.

For decades, forest management sought to prevent and suppress fire, and dense stands of trees and brush have made today's wildfires burn hotter and grow larger. As people move into the "wildland urban interface", or "I-Zone", the potential for catastrophic loss of life and property grows. Though homeowners must take responsibility for their property's defensible space, this project proves that with collaboration and incentives, neighborhoods and communities can be mobilized to improve fire safety.

The project demonstrated that remedies can be applied to the problem, reducing the destruction that follows a wildfire. Homeowners create defensible space, neighborhoods protect larger areas, and the whole community comes together to improve wildfire protection in canyons and other watershed areas. See the Remedies section for details and the Tools for Action section for resources.

Credits

Project contact

American River Watershed Institute (ARWI)
PO Box 1750
Colfax, CA 95713
otis@foothill.net
530-320-6841

Project funded by City of Colfax, California