The City of Chino Hills will receive $565,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to support a fuel reduction project that will enhance the city’s ability to remove fire hazards in close proximity to homes.
The funding will allow the city to supplement its annual weed abatement efforts with a program that enlarges defensible space and removes dead and declining plant material in the landscaped buffer zones between the city’s habitable structures and its open space hillsides, said city spokesperson Nicole Freeman.
The project will use environmentally friendly techniques that are cost effective and will result in long-term greenhouse gas reductions, she said.
The funding was approved as part of the Federal Government’s omnibus spending bill that will provide government funding across multiple divisions on a federal level, and for the first time in 12 years, includes local projects as requested by their legislative representatives, Ms. Freeman said.
The project was supported by U.S. Representative Young Kim, who represents California’s 39th Congressional District that includes Chino Hills, and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla who represent California.
Mayor Ray Marquez said wildfires are always a concern in Chino Hills with its 3,000 acres of open space.
“Our residents’ safety, health, and in many cases lives, depend on our ability to protect them from the destructive paths of wildfires,” he said.
The city is comprised of 3,350 acres of city-owned open space and is adjacent to the 14,107-acre Chino Hills State Park that has burned in previous fires and abuts residential neighborhoods in the city.
Rep. Young Kim said the city worked with her to assess the need for the project and get it through the finish line in Congress.
“This is an important initiative to protect open space and keep residents safe from wildfires,” she said.
