Community Wildfire Assistance

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wildland Fire Community Assistance Program is focused on prevention, education, mitigation and cooperator assistance. The BLM partners with communities to provide funding and technical expertise for hazardous fuels reduction on adjacent non-federal lands, completing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs), prevention efforts to reduce human-caused fires, and wildland fire training for fire departments and rangeland fire protection associations (RFPAs). 

BLM video: Community Assistance program helps communities prepare for wildfire

BLM video: Protect Your Home from Wildfire - Home Hardening

Through cooperative agreements, the Community Wildfire Assistance program allows us to provide financial assistance to local fire departments, counties, and non-profit organizations. The BLM Community Wildfire Assistance program is based on cooperation, collaboration and communication among federal agencies, states, local governments, tribes and interested parties. The program has worked toward the establishment of Fire Adapted Communities through homeowner education, community protection planning and the facilitation of fuels management/mitigation projects. Community residents and organizations adapt to wildland fire through capacity building and implementation of citizen-driven solutions that lessen local vulnerability to the wildland fire threat.

The Community Wildfire Assistance program serves as the connection between the BLM Fuels Management program and our neighboring communities, addressing the wildland fire threat across jurisdictional boundaries and presenting opportunities to work together – benefitting both the agency and the rural communities we serve. This program enables the BLM to partner with members of communities, improve dialogue and work together to achieve common goals outlined in the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (establishing fire adapted communities that can withstand wildfire, restoring and maintaining landscapes resilient to fire-related disturbances, and improving wildfire response).