FEMA rescinds funding for Brooktrails, California, wildfire prevention grant, cancels all BRIC applications from FY2020-2023; Mendocino County received US$3.6M from BRIC grant through FEMA in 2024

April 30, 2025 (The Ukiah Daily Journal) –

Millions of dollars in grant funding allocated to Mendocino County for wildfire preparations in the township of Brooktrails has been rescinded, federal officials announced.

In a recent press release, the Federal Emergency Management Administration announced that it was “ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and canceling all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023. If grant funds have not been distributed to states, tribes, territories and local communities, funds will be immediately returned either to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury.”

In his latest community update, 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak noted that the rescinded funding includes “one project that promised to enhance community safety significantly,” explaining that in 2024, Mendocino County “received $3.6 million from the BRIC grant through FEMA , and matching funds from a Prepare CA Match grant. This funding was for the first phase of a multi-phase, $50 million project to create defensible space, reduce hazardous fuels, and retrofit homes with ignition-resistant materials to address wildfire hazards in the Brooktrails/Sherwood Corridor. This initiative was crucial for improving the county’s wildfire preparedness and resilience, especially given that this area is considered one of the highest priorities in the state.”

However, Haschak notes that with “the termination of the BRIC program… all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023, which would include ours, are being canceled.”

The press release posted on the FEMA website also notes that “as the program is concluding, the Fiscal Year 2024 BRIC funding opportunity is cancelled, no applications submitted will be reviewed and no funds will be awarded. The program resulted in a lack of concrete results and a majority of funding being awarded to only a few states. FEMA is working to develop a new approach to mitigation that is more responsive to state and local requirements, achieves clear mitigation goals, and results in more-timely obligation of funding. FEMA will be reaching out and coordinating with recipients on projects. The agency’s website will be updated with a full list of projects selected for funding over the last four years.”

As for other grant funding opportunities, Cal Fire and Conservation works announced this month that “the North Bay Forest Improvement Program was awarded two grants totaling over $5.9 million dollars from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Wildfire Resilience Program.”

In the release, officials explained that “the funds will bring critical resources to treat wildfire hazards on private properties, throughout the region, with a focus on serving disadvantaged communities across Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties.”

The release also describes the “NBFIP supports planning and implementation of projects on private forested lands to reduce risks of wildfire and promote forest health in four counties including Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Napa. By providing financial incentives to catalyze private investments in forest health and resilience projects, NBFIP will innovate land stewardship across regions, reduce fuel loads and risks of wildfire, and create new funding pathways which are more accessible by treating roughly 2,000 acres and supporting nearly 200 landowners.”

“The North Bay Forest Improvement Program is a testament to successful collaboration, thanks to Conservation Works for implementing an innovative forest management program that reduces wildfire hazards and improves health on private forest lands,” Stewart McMorrow , Staff Chief for Wildfire Resilience at Cal Fire, is quoted as saying in the release. “These shared investments will help build more resilience in the North Bay communities.”

The release also notes that “2025 NBFIP web applications for private landowners in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties will open in summer 2025, (and) for more information about the North Bay Forest Improvement Program or how to apply, visit https://www.northbayforestimprovementprogram.com/