MFSC EMBER STOMP, GRANTS AND MORE AS FIRE MITIGATION REMAINS THE TOP PRIORITY

After being hired by the Mariposa Fire Safe Council, now Executive Director, Lacey Sharp, hit the ground running and never looked back.

“Things are going great,” Sharp said.

“We’re in the middle of grant writing season so it’s been stressful but both grants I’ve written so far have been accepted.”

Sharp joined the organization and is the successor to now retired Barbara Cone.

“I served as the community seat holder on the Mariposa County Fire Advisory Committee (MCFAC),” said Sharp.

“As I become more involved with fire, I heard about the job opening and applied and got it.”

After being with the non-profit for just under a year, Sharp just completed her first event, the annual Ember Stomp Fire & Emergency Preparedness Event which features a dinner, auction and activities which bring the community together.

“The event was a huge success,” Sharp said.

“The total funds raised haven’t been announced yet but it was successful and we were able to provide $2,500 toward the Ember Stomp Scholarship.”

After working with Happy Goat with a focus on fire mitigation, Sharp has fit right in with the Mariposa Fire Safe Council.

“I’m a very collaborative person,” she said.

“It’s a different meaning to an organization and we’re able to show how we can all work together. We are able to work closely with other organizations of fire mitigation and really come together.”

Collaboration is key and working with all the organizations involved with fire prevention and the MCFAC is vital.

“Right now we’re developing maps which is part of the Mariposa Area of Protection Strategy,” explained Sharp.

“That is really going to take us to the next step for the county to show how we all work together to hopefully expand and develop and build off of each other’s projects.”

The maps with become part of an RGIS suite to better show all of the projects in the works and it will also help prioritize the level of importance of each project.

“If we can all come together and know how to prioritize projects, it gets us ready to show we’re ready to receive grants,” Sharp said.

The Mariposa Fire Safe Council recently received a grant worth $756,179 from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy for wildfire resilience and recreation.

This funding will go toward retreating and reducing fuels on 192 acres in the southwest region of Mariposa County near Ahwahnee, Nipinnawasee and Ponderosa Basin.

These fuel break areas along Stumpfield Mountain Road were treated back in 2019 and will be retreated.

“Crews will come in and chainsaw and drag to the road to a chipper and chips will go back into the landscape, that way it decomposes pretty quickly,” Sharp explained.

“It’s about 192 acres and we’re hoping we can start on that project this fall and be completed by next fall.”

The Mariposa Fire Safe Council has several other projects currently going on.

“We’re working on Phase 2 in Lushmeadows and we’re finishing up the project on Harris Road,” Sharp continued.

“We’re also working on the Fremont Fuel Reduction project near the hospital.”

As Sharp settles in her position, collaboration and community are at the heart of everything she’s doing.

“I really enjoy being part of the community. It really plays an important part and gives that purpose that you’re doing something special for public benefit,” she said.

“Every project that we create, we keep in the county’s assets as well as assets from MPUD, the Stockton preserve, Chase’s Petroleum and more.”

Sharp explained the importance of the community’s assets and how a fire can not only destroy a structure, but the ripple effect that follows.

“If we have a catastrophic fire that takes out Chase’s Petroleum and the fairgrounds, Chase’s fuels all of our engines and heavy equipment within the county, that’s huge,” explained Sharp.

“If we put in a fuel break that’s great,but what if that fuel break stops a fire, what did it protect? That’s what makes you feel good at the end of the day. You’re not just designing a project, but what service does it provide for public benefit and how do you take that to the next level?”

The Mariposa Fire Safe Council provides services for locals in Mariposa County.

“We still have our Brush and Chip program, as well as the Chipping only program,” Sharp said.

“All Mariposa county residents qualify for free chipping.”

For more information about the Brush and Chip program, as well as the chipping only initiative, contact the MFSC at (209) 966-7700 or visit their website at www.mariposafiresafecouncil.org