Next Round of Community Wildfire Defense Grants Available to Alaskans

By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection on November 22, 2024

The third round of funding for the federal Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program is open through February 2025.

A graphic reads "Community Wildfire Defense Grants: Protecting communities, infrastructure, and natural resources from the threat of wildfires" with an image of a firefighter monitoring a pile burning.

A total of $1 billion is available over a five-year period through the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act that awards grants to at-risk communities to develop or revise a community wildfire protection plan; and carry out projects from current community wildfire protection plans less than 10 years old.

Individual grants will fund up to $250,000 to create and update community wildfire protection plans (CWPP) or conduct outreach and education, and up to $10 million for associated infrastructure and resilience projects.

In the second round of funding, Alaska received a total of $3,130,474 for the following community wildfire protection planning and implementation projects:

Bristol Bay Native Association: $250,000 for CWPP development
Nenana Native Association: $249,863 for CWPP development
Native Village of Tetlin: $129,000 for CWPP development
Tok: $250,000 for CWPP development
Delta: $250,000 for CWPP development
Homer Electric Association (501c3): $2,630,474 for a right-of-way clearing implementation project

“The division strongly encourages eligible communities and organizations to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for funding.”

“To support further wildland fire mitigation efforts in at-risk communities, the State of Alaska is participating in the third round of the program to offer local applicants enhanced resources and assistance from the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection,” said Norm McDonald, Deputy Director of Fire Protection. “The division strongly encourages eligible communities and organizations to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for funding.”

For more information about the CWDG grants in Alaska, communities may visit http://forestry.alaska.gov/fire/cwdgrants or inquire directly for application instructions.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lily Coyle, 907-795-9382, lily.coyle@alaska.gov