Oak woodland with blue sky

Before the Fire: Resilience Projects

BUILDING RESILIENCE BEFORE DISASTER STRIKES

Our BEFORE THE FIRE programs are grounded in the belief that RESILIENCE against fire is the best way to MITIGATE fire risk & RECOVER better.

There is much work to be done to build strong models and innovative tools for ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL and COMMUNITY resilience. 

Current Projects

healthy forest scene with blue sky behind

Reducing risks and promoting forest health on private forested land

North Bay Forest Improvement Program

Central Oregon landscape view of grasslands

Promoting vegetation management for resilience

Building Fire Resilience in California's Coast Range Forests and Grasslands

healthy forest interior

North Bay Program Leverages Revolving Loan Funds to Help Landowners with Forest Management

by Molly Curley O’Brien Across the State of California, 40% of forest lands are privately owned, however the percentage is much higher in the North Bay. Take Sonoma County for example: only 11% of forested land in Sonoma County is owned by local, state, or federal government – meaning nearly 90% of forest land here…

dirt pathway through a grassland

USDA and After the Fire/Rebuild NorthBay Foundation and partners to leverage $4.9M in CA to implement land management practices

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and After the Fire/Rebuild NorthBay Foundation in partnership with local governments, NRCS, CAL FIRE, Clear Lake Environmental Resource Center (CLERC), and Resource Conservation Districts (RCD) from Colusa, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Lake and Yolo Counties are leveraging $4.9M in CA to implement land management practices which minimize wildfire impacts. Our…

Testimonials

Man in Fire Dept jacket and tie

Mike Wink

Battalion Chief, South Lake County Fire Protection District

The South Lake County Fire Protection District has worked on projects in our local community that so far have included: Operation Seconds Count, that provides fire extinguishers and smoke/CO2 alarms to those in need, Operation Force Multiplier, that provides wildland fire hand tools and water fire extinguishers to help community members extinguish smaller fires and Operation Help Us Find You, that provided street signs and address signs to a rural community. Without the support, collaboration, leadership and networking from theTeam at After The Fire these local projects would not have gotten the boost to get going. All of these Projects are ongoing. Thank you team After The Fire!

man with red hair and beard outdoors smiles for the camera

Will Evans

Executive Director, Clear Lake Environmental Research Center

ATF has played a critical role in the establishment of multiple regional wildfire resilience partnerships. These regional collaborations have enabled our organization to engage with other practitioners across the region, which has been important for gaining access to technical expertise and funding for projects. ATF's small grants have provided funding that has allowed us to collaborate with new partners on a professional level, which otherwise would have been handled by community volunteers.

bearded man with broad brimmed hat smiling

Richard Kavinoky

Monan’s Rill Commu nity

After the Glass Fire burned through our property, it left a lot of dead standing manzanita and trees. The North Bay Forest Improvement Program grant gave us the funds we needed to hire the labor to cut, pile and burn all that vegetation. Now, seven months and 200 burn piles later, the work is done, and we are much better protected from a future wildfire coming from the east.

jason wells standing outside near trees

Jason Wells

Registered Professional Forester, Sonoma Resource Conservation District

Working with After the Fire has been a great partnership, without their help there would be no North BayForest Improvement Program. Their fiscal sponsorship provides a means to soften the delay between payments from our funders and invoices provided by partners and landowners, their staff provides expertise in contract and meeting management as well as development of promotional and online resources, and they are able to provide a nexus by which multiple agencies and partners can work to expand the influence of the program.

Before the Fire Staff

Rosa Brandt
Program Manager