Lamorinda residents get final say on wildfire fuel projects

Lamorinda residents have one more shot to influence which wildfire fuel-reduction projects get built in their neighborhoods.

The Diablo Firesafe Council holds its sixth and final Regional Priority Plan stakeholder meeting Thursday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. via Zoom.

The meeting is the last public input opportunity before the council locks in its prioritization of fuel breaks, vegetation management and evacuation-corridor improvements across Contra Costa and Alameda counties, according to a Diablo Firesafe Council announcement posted Aug. 10.

What's at stake for Lamorinda

The RPP is the regional planning document that ranks which wildfire mitigation projects move forward. In its first round of rankings, the plan gave top priority to several Lamorinda projects, including a $140,000 fuel break along a 100-foot-wide, 3,000-foot-long strip next to Highway 24 in Orinda near 501 Orindawoods Drive, led by the Moraga-Orinda Fire District and Caltrans. A second Rank 1 project would remove ladder fuels along Wildcat Canyon Road from Camino Pablo to El Toyonal in Orinda at an estimated cost of $132,881, also led by MOFD.

Another high-priority proposal calls for six portable water supply sites to support aerial firefighting, estimated at $571,800, with MOFD as a partner. A medium-priority proposal from the Orinda Downs Owners Association would expand fire abatement on 155 acres of conservation open space in North Orinda at an estimated cost of $235,000 over three years.

Over 20 project proposals were submitted across the two-county region during the RPP process.

After the meeting

Once the Aug. 20 session wraps, the council will finalize the prioritization process and incorporate all new projects with maps into the RPP document. The agenda had not been posted as of Aug. 10; the council said it is "coming soon."

Executive Director Patty Ciesla, who took over the role June 20, leads the council through this final phase. She previously served as executive director of the California Fire Safe Council and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.

The fifth stakeholder meeting, held May 21, drew what the council called "a great turnout," and DFSC posted the recording and slides afterward. The same will happen after the Aug. 20 meeting for those who cannot attend live.