Third paragraph, first sentence has been updated to add start date for grant applications.
The updated release reads:
PG&E AND CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION JOIN FORCES TO BOLSTER WILDFIRE SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS
Applications Being Accepted for Fire Safety, Public Education Grants
During California’s Wildfire Preparedness Week May 1-7, 2022, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the California Fire Foundation (CFF) are announcing their continued partnership in support of wildfire safety and preparedness.
PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation (Foundation) are providing, in the aggregate, $1.4 million to CFF’s Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program (WSPP). Now in its fifth year, the program’s objective is to raise public awareness about wildfire safety and deliver resources to underserved communities in high fire-risk areas. It includes a grant program that awarded 54 local fire departments, fire agencies and community groups $670,000 in funding last year.
Beginning May 18, fire departments and community-based organizations in California can submit applications for this year’s wildfire safety and awareness grants. Applications must be submitted by 11:45 p.m. on June 17, 2022 at the CFF website. Award notification will begin mid-July, 2022.
Since 2018, the CFF, which administers and manages the WSPP, has awarded 199 grants to fire departments and fire agencies statewide, focusing its efforts in Northern and Central California. Funding targets communities identified as having extreme or elevated fire risk as identified by the California Public Utilities Commission.
“California’s drought, coupled with drier, hotter conditions are putting communities at risk. The Wildfire Safety and Preparedness Program is a partnership with PG&E that was created to address the increasing wildfire risk,” said Rick Martinez, Executive Director of CFF. “Our partnership over the last five years, in which California has seen an increase in fire activity, has played an important role in helping local communities become more fire-safe. ”
“At PG&E we’ve taken a stand that catastrophic wildfires shall stop. But we know we can’t do it alone. It will take all of us working together to mitigate the wildfire risk, and help our hometowns be better prepared and be more resilient to this growing threat,” said Sumeet Singh, PG&E Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Interim Chief Safety Officer.