The National Fire Plan Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy Summary 2002 Cooperative Fire Our Volunteer Fire Assistance, State Fire Assistance, and Federal Excess Personal Property programs help equip and train state and local departments to protect life, property, and natural resources.   Rural Fire Depts. Assisted Excess Property Items Provided Firefighters Trained 2002 State Fire Assistance & Volunteer Fire Assistance Idaho 37 of 170 49 35 $4.2 million Montana 225 of 379 57 2,447 $2.1 million North Dakota 175 of 388 8 602 $603,400 Nevada *0 *0 100 $2.5 million Utah 182 of 257 35 2,686 $1.0 million * Nevada plans to combine 2002 and 2003 funding and distribute it in the spring. "It's amazing how long we've saved to build a truck of this nature ... now our dream of 5-7 years down the road has come true!" Jess Beery, Fire Chief, McCone County, Montana Pisek Rural Fire District, North Dakota Used Forest Service vehicle overhauled with Volunteer Fire Assistance grant monies. Community Fire Assistance These programs are making a huge difference in the Intermountain and Northern Region states! They help our communities plan and implement wildfire protection projects while boosting their economies. One of the ways we accomplish this is by helping our partners explore economic uses for small diameter wood removed in fuels reduction projects. Montana the Darby school system has launched our first pilot project in the "Fuels For Schools Program"this year. Although our support to last summer's fire suppression delayed this grant a bit, we are excited to say that Darby will heat with biomass beginning next fall! Darby School, Darby, Montana Nevada and North Dakota assessed the unused biomass within their states, and are identifying appropriate markets to put it to use. Our partners include Nevada Firesafe Council, Nevada State Prison, Carson City Landfill, and University of North Dakota's Energy Environmental Research Center. Utah's involvement with the Four Corners Sustainable Forests Partnership won a national Rural Community Assistance Award and established a revolving loan fund to help small businesses that use small diameter wood or perform fire mitigation work. Utah grants helped purchase the Escalante micromill for lease to Skyline Forest Resources. Escalante micromill, Escalante, Utah Idaho Department of Commerce granted funds to build a small diameter wood visitor kiosk, establish a business center, and help a business create decorative fencing with small diameter wood. Fire Protection Planning Idaho Completed 3 county-wide plans; plans for Coeur d'Alene Tribe and their neighbors, plus 21 of Idaho's counties are under way $275,000* Montana 9 plans serving 11 counties under way $245,000* North Dakota Completed 3 city-wide plans; one under way, plus organizing and technical assistance statewide $200,000* Nevada Completed plans for 2 communities, plus organization and capacity building in 12 more $230,000* Utah 29 community plans under way $290,000* *All funding figures reflect amounts that were delivered to the states in 2001. Hazardous Fuels Reduction This program really got rolling this year! With funding through State Fire Assistance and special mitigation dollars, we helped communities and homeowners reduce their fire risk. We maximized our impact by targeting Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas and private lands adjacent to National Forest projects. Idaho granted over $2.4 million to begin work on 326 WUI fuels reduction projects in 12 communities. They supported four Fire Safe demonstration projects and used nine Student Conservation Association crews to canvass 3,808 homes in 98 communities, did assessments on 1,026 properties, and created defensible space for 104 homes. Montana inspected 1,800 homes and completed hundreds of acres of WUI fuels reduction. Nevada began work on eight fuels reduction projects, one risk assessment project and four community outreach projects. Utah completed 19 fuels reduction projects in 26 communities. Last updated July 2003

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