For Release: November 10, 2005
Contact: Victoria Smith (916) 978-4428
CASO-06-04

California Fire Alliance Has New Process for Aiding Communities

The California Fire Alliance has a new process for adding and removing communities from the "Communities At-Risk" (CAR) list. The CAR program was developed to assist communities in protecting people and their property from potentially catastrophic wildfires. The program is directed by the National Fire Plan and the list of communities is administered by the Alliance.

Previous fire seasons saw millions of acres throughout the United States burned. These fires dramatically illustrate the threat to human lives and development. Under executive order, the National Fire Plan was created as a cooperative, long-term effort by the USDA Forest Service, Department of the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters to protect communities and restore ecological health on state and federal lands.

Throughout California there are extensive situations where urban areas abut heavily forested, wildland areas. This wildland-urban interface has resulted in over 1,250 communities to be placed on the CAR list. In order to streamline processes and assure threatened communities can update their status, a new application process has been implemented.