Fire is an essential, regenerative component of California’s ecology, but it can also be a force of destruction. To build resilience to fire, we must focus on community preparedness and protection, but also on the ecological health of our wild lands. The CCRCD’s Wildfire Conservation & Resilience Program works at the nexus of wildfire preparedness and natural resource conservation.

Over the past two decades, the leading cause of wildfire ignitions has shifted from lightning to humans. As our communities expand into the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) and the legacy of landscape mismanagement produces dry landscapes densely packed with invasive vegetation,  we experience escalated fire risk through increased probability of ignition, and increased fire severity when wildfires do occur. To mitigate the risk of catastrophic fire– fire that threatens the safety of our communities– the CCRCD and our organizational and agency partners (East Bay Regional Park District, California State Parks, Contra Costa Water District, John Muir Land Trust, and many more) work to restore active management in our wildlands. Vegetation management, focused on controlling invasive species (like French broom and eucalyptus) and reducing the overall density of our forests and shrublands, creates landscape conditions that are more resistant to ignition, promote low-intensity fire, and allow ecosystems to recover more readily after fire. Strategic vegetation management doesn’t just benefit our wildfire resilience, but it also improves landscape water storage capacity and quality, habitat quality, resilience to diseases and pests, and resilience to climate change. Goat and cattle grazing, prescribed fire, and manual fuel reduction are a few of the strategies we often use.

Community preparedness to fire takes a different approach than wildland vegetation management, but it is a crucial part of helping the CCRCD and our partners build county-wide resilience to wildfire. As my colleague put it, “One of the most environmentally friendly things you can do is prevent your house from burning down.” Preparing for evacuation, hardening your home, and maintaining an ember-free zone around your home can significantly increase the chance of your home surviving a wildfire. While the CCRCD is not directly involved in supporting evacuation efforts and home hardening, the Diablo Fire Safe Council, West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council, University of California Cooperative Extension, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Moraga-Orinda Fire District, and other local Fire Districts offer education and assistance programs to support you and your neighbors in preparing for fire.  

The road to building fire resilience is a collective responsibility – let’s prepare for wildfire together.