Helping Our Communities Stay Safe: PG&E and California Fire Foundation Announce Grantees for Wildfire Safety Funding

The California Fire Foundation (CFF) has awarded a total of $680,000 in wildfire safety grants to 55 local fire departments, fire agencies and community groups. The funding will support purchasing personal protective and specialized equipment for firefighters, defensible space and vegetation management work, fuels and hazards reduction, and fire safety public education and outreach.

The grants are part of a broad Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP) that is administered and managed by the CFF. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) supports the program with $1.4 million in charitable funding. The program's objective is to raise awareness about wildfire safety and bring resources to underserved communities in high fire-threat areas.

The 2021 grantees are listed below. For a 2020 summary of the WSPP, click here.

"Once again, we are experiencing an extremely destructive wildfire season throughout the state that is impacting communities far and wide," said Rick Martinez, Executive Director of the California Fire Foundation. "Grant funding from the 2021 Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program aims to bring additional resources to fire departments and local organizations to give them extra support to help keep our communities safe."

Since 2018, 200 fire departments and fire agencies statewide have received funding through the WSPP. Funding targets specific communities identified as having extreme or elevated fire risk as identified by the California Public Utilities Commission High Fire-Threat District map.

"As California's wildfire risk continues to grow, it will take all of us working together to find solutions to mitigate catastrophic wildfires. We're grateful to partner with CFF in supporting dozens of fire departments, agencies and community groups to bolster key defenses, including tools and strategies to prevent and contain wildfires, and fire safety education," said Carla Peterman, PG&E Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs.

The WSPP focuses on two key areas to help keep communities safe:

• A Wildfire Safety Campaign that features fire safety education, developed by CFF, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hmong to promote early evacuation during fires. The WSPP has worked hard to overcome language barriers by developing and distributing in-language fire-safety messaging. This campaign includes advertising on radio, television, and digital ads, and outdoor billboards in high fire-threat areas.

• A Grant Program administered by the CFF through an application process. The CFF awards grants to recipient fire departments, agencies and community groups in support of projects and programs focusing on wildfire/disaster prevention, preparedness and/or relief and recovery assistance.

How the Grants Help Communities

PG&E's contribution continues a four-year collaboration with CFF. PG&E has provided $4.6 million in total support for fire safety awareness through the WSPP. The charitable contribution is shareholder-funded, not funded by PG&E customers.

The CFF, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, aids firefighters, their families and the communities they protect. The CFF's Firefighters on Your Side program, also supported by PG&E, provides multi-lingual, culturally relevant fire safety messaging in both digital and print form, to assist the public in staying safe.

List of 2021 WSPP Grantees

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.

About California Fire Foundation

The California Fire Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, provides emotional and financial assistance to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect. Formed in 1987 by California Professional Firefighters, the California Fire Foundation's mandate includes an array of survivor and victim assistance projects and community initiatives. cafirefoundation.org