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Santa Clara County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)?

A CWPP is a plan designed to identify wildfire risks and hazards to communities and develop recommendations to address that risk. The CWPP is a countywide guiding document for wildfire prevention activities.

What is the CWPP update project?

CWPPs are a critical element for county wildfire preparedness. Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) has received a $250,000 grant from CAL FIRE and California Climate Investment (CCI) funds to manage the project to update the current Santa Clara County CWPP. Updating the CWPP creates a strategic wildfire preparedness plan and allows county agencies to identify projects and seek funding to support project implementation. 

Why is the CWPP important to me?

Catastrophic wildfire affects us all.  Safety, property, air quality, power, infrastructure such as cell towers, agriculture, and water quality in our county can all be compromised by a large wildfire. The CWPP works to identify how to protect these values and creates a structure that allows representatives to take action.

Who is updating the CWPP?

The Santa Clara FireSafe Council is leading the project with support from CAL FIRE, CCI Cap & Trade Dollars, County Fire, Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management, and other key stakeholder agencies.

What is the purpose of a CWPP?

This strategic plan serves to protect life, property, and the environment by enabling local agencies to prioritize the placement and maintenance of shaded fuel breaks, fuel reduction programs, and public education campaigns. Many projects are active under this plan, including chipping programs, special needs assistance programs, defensible space, roadside fuels reduction, private landowner fuel breaks, defensible space inspection programs, and identification of evacuation routes.

What is the Project schedule?

The project is currently underway and is expected to be complete by August 2023.

Where can I find the current 2016 Santa Clara County CWPP?

You can find the current 2016 CWPP document on the Santa Clara County Fire Department website here: https://www.sccfd.org/santa-clara-county-community-wildfire-protection-plan/

What is a CWPP Story Map?

A story map is a place where maps, photos, videos, important information, and other resources can be found in one convenient place. The CWPP story map will provide important information to guide you through the CWPP update project including timelines and the CWPP once it is completed.

Why is the 2016 CWPP considered a final draft version?

The most recent Santa Clara County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) final draft was completed in August 2016 and couldn’t be approved before the Loma Fire started in September 2016. With the Loma Fire burning 4,474 acres before the CWPP could be approved, many priority fire prevention projects identified in various CWPP Annexes became no longer applicable. Representatives from Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD) and CAL FIRE then agreed to postpone the approval and adoption process until the affected portions of the CWPP could be updated. 



What area of Santa Clara County is included?

The project scope includes all of Santa Clara County, a land mass of roughly 1,290 square miles and the home for more than 1.9M inhabitants. However, like most CWPPs, the primary focus of this project will be on the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) regions of the County, and specifically, the western boundary with Midpeninsula Region Open Space and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority lands, the eastern section and boundary with many city, county and state parks, and the southern areas where open spaces and large landowners are common.

Who is funding it?

The Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) project grant is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities. 

CAL FIRE has awarded a $250,000 grant to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) to lead the 2022/2023 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) update. 

What type of approach is being taken for Risk Assessment and Hazard Risk Index Analysis?

We will be refining the mitigation strategies, but performing an all-new Risk Assessment and Hazard Risk Index analysis based on the latest tools, mapping data and modeling capabilities available—where the wildfire risks are greatest. 

This highly advanced scientific approach is used to characterize the wildfire risk hazards in finer detail than ever before available, including enhanced lifeform analysis, that will serve to guide all new and refined mitigation strategies outlined in the final product.

Where can I find updates?

For more information, FAQs, and to sign up for updates visit SCCFireSafe.org/CWPP 

For questions, please contact the CWPP team at CWPPteam@sccfiresafe.org or (408) 975-9591