LAKEPORT — After making a presentation to the Lake County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Northlake Fire Protection District Chief Mike Ciancio found himself tongue-tied in amazement. Beaming in disbelief for the support he received, he uttered his thanks. He had asked for money. He’s going to get it.
Ciancio pitched his proposal for a wildland fire fuels crew to the BOS after successfully obtaining funding from the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake in the amount of $662,000 to cover payroll and benefits in the project’s first year. Full-time personnel would consist of a fire captain and 10 crew members. With an estimated first-year cost of $1.2 million Ciancio approached the BOS to find ways to fund the rest to cover equipment and operating costs. To his surprise, three of the district supervisors offered to allocate a portion of their discretionary funds toward the remaining balance. District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell and District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon each would contribute $100,000, and District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska offered to pitch in $50,000. Board Chair Bruno Sabatier and District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott were confident that with full BOS support of the project, the Cannabis Tax Committee would fund the remaining balance.
In a post-meeting interview, Ciancio said, “I was completeIy taken aback. I didn’t go to the Board of Supervisors with the intent of using their discretionary funds. I know they have other projects in their districts. I thought they may be able to use funds from the cannabis taxes.”
Addressing sustainability, Ciancio said he’s certain that state and federal grants could keep the project going, but funding is needed for the first year to work on securing grant funding for future years. “If I waited, we’re looking at 2022 or 2023 to get started. Local funding sources were needed now to get the program off the ground. We’d like to see boots on the ground by May 2022,” Ciancio added. “Funding is the first hurdle. Recruitment is the second hurdle.”
A fire fuels crew is a subset of a fire department specializing in vegetation management related to wildland fire hazards and risks. While none of the fire districts in the county has a fuels crew, the concept is nothing new in other areas of California and in other states. Fuels crews are tasked with clearing brush and fuels from risk areas and perform mop-up work during fire incidents to allow firefighters and emergency personnel to respond to other calls,” Ciancio said. “Due to lack of resources, crews have to be requested from the state.”
A fuels crew is also expected to conduct fuel mitigation projects to help senior residents and be available for clearing brush within the Northshore Fire District and throughout the county. “Our crew will work anywhere wherever the funding is but we need to establish priorities. They will be trained on the job.”
Ciancio hopes to hire a new fire captain by November 1 to help him put the crew together and get the necessary equipment. Recruitment will be done internally first then extended externally, if needed, he said. Ciancio sees the fire fuels crew as an option for graduating high school seniors, as well. He considers crew service a stepping stone to firefighting.
Sabatier hopes the pilot program grows into something larger in the future, paving the way for the county to have north shore and south shore fuels crews. As Simon pointed out: “Collaboration and coordination are needed to get it off the ground.”
