Defensible Space for Low-income Seniors and Disabled Residents

Updated: May 8, 2026

The Tuolumne Fire Safe Council (TFSC) has been awarded funding from the CAL FIRE Climate Investment Grant to create defensible space around the homes of low- income seniors and disabled residents in Tuolumne County. The Grant amount is $879,000 which will be spread over 5 years, 2024-2029.

The Defensible Space for Seniors and Disabled in Tuolumne County project will provide defensible space for low-income seniors age 65 and older and disabled individuals who are economically and/or physically unable to do this work or hire a contractor to do the work. The project is countywide and will treat an estimated 425 habitable structures/302 acres over 4 years.

Reducing vegetation fuels can lessen a fires intensity and speed and will reduce the risk to homes. This program is intended to help individuals create defensible space (maximum 100 feet or to property lines) around the primary residence. It may not to be used for clearing acreage or vacant parcels.

Participation in this program is voluntary and at no cost to the applicant. Services provided and the duration of this program are contingent upon the amount of funding received. Applications will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis, except for priority to eligible applicants who have had a CAL FIRE inspection. Applicants must meet the Eligibility Criteria.

• Disabled
• Senior (65 or over) and Low-income (Maximum income limits: 1 person = $54,250, 2 = $62,000, 3 = $69,750, 4 = $77,450

Clearance provided by the TFSC may not meet the full requirements of the State of California’s Public Resources Code 4291 and/ or Tuolumne County or City of Sonora Ordinances. It is still the property owner’s responsibility to comply with fuel reduction requirements.

A resident does not need to be home for clearing services to be completed. If resident wishes to be home, they must inform the Project Manager. The contractor will rake needles/leaves, weed eat, cut and remove brush, and limb ladder fuels from trees around the home. Trees up to 12″ dbh (diameter at breast height) may be removed.  Trees up to or greater than 10″dbh will require property owner agreement prior to removal”. Green waste will be removed from the property by the contractor. The Resident may modify waste removal (such as keeping chips or firewood on site) with the Project Manager.

Reducing vegetation fuels can lessen a fires intensity and speed and will reduce the risk to homes. This program is intended to help individuals create defensible space (maximum 100 feet or to property lines) around the primary residence. It may not to be used for clearing acreage or vacant parcels.

Participation in this program is voluntary and at no cost to the applicant. Services provided and the duration of this program are contingent upon the amount of funding received. Applications will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis, except for priority to eligible applicants who have had a CAL FIRE inspection. Applicants must meet the Eligibility Criteria.

• Disabled
• Senior (65 or over) and Low-income (Maximum income limits: 1 person = $54,250, 2 = $62,000, 3 = $69,750, 4 = $77,450

Clearance provided by the TFSC may not meet the full requirements of the State of California’s Public Resources Code 4291 and/ or Tuolumne County or City of Sonora Ordinances. It is still the property owner’s responsibility to comply with fuel reduction requirements.

A resident does not need to be home for clearing services to be completed. If resident wishes to be home, they must inform the Project Manager. The contractor will rake needles/leaves, weed eat, cut and remove brush, and limb ladder fuels from trees around the home. Trees up to 12″ dbh (diameter at breast height) may be removed.  Trees up to or greater than 10″dbh will require property owner agreement prior to removal”. Green waste will be removed from the property by the contractor. The Resident may modify waste removal (such as keeping chips or firewood on site) with the Project Manager.

After an application has been submitted:

1. TSFC will determine applicants’ eligibility.
2. Applications will be batched based on geographical locations to facilitate completion of environmental analysis and development of contractor specifications.
3. A Project Manager will conduct an on-site defensible space assessment. Property owner must be in attendance to participate, review the work order, and sign the Landowner Agreement documentation. A sample Landowner Agreement form can be viewed here.
4. A licensed Contractor will be scheduled to perform the work. The Project Manager will communicate directly with the resident to coordinate.

Note: The current approved applications exceeds the program funds.  Therefore, no further applications are being accepted. The Fire Safe Council is pursuing additional funding so, please check back periodically.

A separate USDA grant program, managed by Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services (OES), may have funding for eligible residents. For more information on opportunities in those three communities, please call OES at (209) 533-6395 or email oes@co.tuolumne.ca.us.  For more information see the OES website.

For questions or additional information contact: Al.Alt@tuolumnefiresafe.org,  530-521-1955.

From a grant recipient:

My husband and I are so very grateful that we were able to get a defensible space grant for our home in Tuolumne County. We are so thankful that Alec Lane and Alpine Tree service helped us have a fire safe home. The team worked efficiently and diligently to see that we had the required clearance for our home. They also cleaned up the branches and trees using a shredder. Then they removed the debris from our property. There is absolutely no way that my husband and I could of managed even part of this project on our own. We give them 10 stars for the excellent work they did.

Joe and Ann