Nevada City, CA – On Tuesday the Nevada County Board of Supervisors approved fund acceptance for a new grant to mitigate wildfire risk in Penn Valley. The Lower Deer Creek Project targets 1,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction around critical infrastructure, key roadways and areas in the Deer Creek Canyon above and adjacent to Lake Wildwood.
The Phase 1 grant totaling nearly $700,000 will be used to support community engagement and complete treatment design and environmental compliance. An additional $200,000 of in-kind match will be provided by Firewise Communities for their efforts in coordinating this project.
“This funding is a critical step in making our community more resilient to wildfire,” said Supervisor Sue Hoek. “Lake Wildwood is a densely populated community with limited evacuation routes, making it hard to evacuate, especially when minutes count. This project will help firefighters protect this community and the surrounding areas during a wildfire.”
Lake Wildwood is one of five communities identified in the 2024 Evacuation Study as being the most evacuation constrained County-wide. This new award, which comes via the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), represents the first major investment to address the outcomes of the Evacuation Study at scale. Several recommendations cited in the study such as the creation of shaded fuel breaks along Bitney Springs Road, Pleasant Valley Road, and Mooney Flat Road are included in the project scope.
Phase 2 of the project will consist of over $4 million in hazardous fuels reduction work.
“It is rewarding to see the strategic plans that make up the Roadmap to Resilience be leveraged to get work on the ground in key locations,” said Alex Keeble-Toll, interim director of emergency services. “We have taken what we learned from our community and technical experts to successfully advocate to funders for impactful wildfire mitigation projects.”
Both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Lower Deer Creek Project require a 25% match that will be satisfied through the in-kind participation of Firewise Communities in the project footprint. The Lake Wildwood Firewise Community has been especially instrumental in helping to define localized priorities for treatment, including those around water tanks, water treatment facilities, and in the Deer Creek canyon and will continue to be integral to project success.
“This area has seen two major destructive fires in the past 35 plus years, both of which threatened large parts of Lake Wildwood,” said Barbara Tiegs, former Chair of the Lake Wildwood Firewise Committee. “This is one of the most densely populated areas in Western Nevada County, and as a resident of Lake Wildwood, I’m very excited about the additional protection that will be provided.”
Next Steps
A Community Town Hall is planned for later this spring and an interactive parcel map will be stood up in advance of the Town Hall so that residents can verify if they are within the project area.
For more information visit ReadyNevadaCounty.org/LowerDeerCreekProject.
About the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services (OES)
OES works under the Emergency Preparedness Board Objective, leading the community in all hazards planning, preparedness, response, and recovery with a focus on wildfire. OES focuses on improving county-wide evacuation routes and safety, continuing to strengthen early alert and critical communication systems, and working with residents and community partners in emergency preparedness, defensible space, home hardening, green waste disposal, and fire- safe land stewardship. Learn more about OES Projects at www.ReadyNevadaCounty.org/Projects.