California Wildfire Relief

February 2021 – May 2023

Spurred by the intense, widespread and increasingly frequent wildfires in the western United States, All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) launched a wildfire relief program in February 2021. The program helped communities recover from recent fires and increase their ability to respond to and mitigate the impact of future wildfires.

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Our Work

Driven by the climate crisis, wildfires are increasing in intensity and frequency and the importance of supporting fire-affected and fire-at-risk communities is clear. Our experience in California has shown that local groups and socioeconomically vulnerable homeowners have immense barriers to receiving support for necessary recovery and mitigation projects. Therefore, more nonprofits need to be involved, and our goal to provide wildfire relief in the region year after year remains firm. From February 2021 – May 2023, All Hands and Hearts operated four programs, aiding communities affected by the devastating Camp Fire and North Complex fire by rebuilding homes and assisting in wildfire mitigation.

Disaster Profile

According to a study released in June 2023, California’s summertime burned area has increased fivefold since 1971. The increase is expected to rise – it could grow by another 50 percent by the year 2050. The climate crisis is considered one of the critical drivers of this trend, with high temperatures and droughts causing dry vegetation and dead trees, which are more susceptible to severe wildfires.

Two of the deadliest and most damaging wildfires in California’s history were the 2018 Camp Fire and the 2020 North Complex wildfire. The 2018 Camp Fire incinerated the town of Paradise and swaths of surrounding foothill communities of Butte County in a single day. The 2020 North Complex fire, the deadliest of that year, caused further devastation to the communities of Butte County – leveling the rural towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls.

Program Spotlight: Opening Public Spaces

In the spring of 2022, we arranged a “surge project” with Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP), Paradise Recreation and Park District. This project aimed to open up and reduce wildfire fuel in a park near where the Camp Fire and Dixie Fire both started. A group of 24 SNAPs and six AHAH volunteers worked together to construct burn piles, remove invasive flammable weeds and remove hazardous trees. The work allowed for the healthier growth of native willow oaks, which the indigenous Maidu Tribe uses for cultural events. After two days of work, the team made 77 burn piles and felled 30 hazardous trees. Paradise Recreation and Park District said that the group got more done in two days than they could in six months.

Program History

MITIGATION AND RECOVERY: BERRY CREEK & BUTTE COUNTY, FEBRUARY 2023 - MAY 2023

We focused on fuel breaks, brush clearing and minimizing potential fuels for protection against future wildfires. We also worked on rebuilding homes, partnering with Tiny Pine and the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) to get residents back into safe, permanent housing.

Our team welcomed California Emergency Response Corps (CERC) volunteers to support our mitigation and recovery efforts.. CERC is a statewide preparedness and response program to help Californians become better prepared to deploy to disasters such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes. Bay Area Community Resource (BACR) is the non-profit lead agency for the program. It is part of the more extensive statewide California Volunteer campaign to boost emergency preparedness in communities experiencing social isolation, poverty, language barriers and food insecurities.

MITIGATION & RECOVERY: BERRY CREEK & BUTTE COUNTY, FEBRUARY 2022 - JULY 2022

In 2022, we extended our reach to support those affected by the 2020 North Complex Fire, which borders the 2018 Camp Fire burn scar. The deadliest fire in 2020 and the sixth largest in California’s modern history, the North Complex Fire culminated 21 unique fires and devastated an estimated 318,935 acres. This damage is the equivalent of an area over one and a half times the size of New York City.

This program combined the work of our two previous programs, focusing on the recovery of fire-affected communities and the mitigation to reduce the risks posed by future fires. We repaired the interiors of damaged homes, widened evacuation routes, constructed defensible spaces – the buffer around a home to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and removed hazardous trees with sawyers from our training program.

RECOVERY: BUTTE COUNTY, AUGUST 2021 - DECEMBER 2021

In partnership with Hope Crisis Response Network (HCRN) and Habitat for Humanity, we completed eight home rebuilds in Paradise and nearby Magalia by using fire-resilient strategies like double-paned windows and fire-resistant siding. In addition to constructing stronger homes, the team planted indigenous, fire-resilient trees to rehabilitate scorched land.

MITIGATION: PARADISE, FEBRUARY 2021 - JULY 2021

In the spring of 2021, we piloted our chainsaw training program in Paradise, California. Trainees created fuel breaks, defensible spaces and removed hazard trees from residential properties. In total, they felled 534 hazard trees and cleared 11 acres to create a fuel break.

Lives Impacted

Volunteers

Rebuilds and Repairs

Trees Felled

Acres Cleared