City Receives CAL FIRE Grant for NetCom Wildfire Project

Published on July 23, 2026

Dela Wild Fire Project Area Map for web thumbnail.jpg

City of Santa Cruz Receives CAL FIRE Grant for Santa Cruz Regional 911 (NetCom) Wildfire Risk Reduction Project

SANTA CRUZ, CA. — The City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department has received a 2026–2027 CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grant to reduce wildfire risk around critical public safety infrastructure and nearby neighborhoods in DeLaveaga Park.

The project is a collaborative effort between the City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, City of Santa Cruz Fire Department, Santa Cruz Regional 911 (NetCom), and ARC Forestry. Funding is provided by CAL FIRE through the California Climate Investments Program and Proposition 4.

Project work is scheduled to begin Monday, July 27, 2026. As preparations get underway, visitors may notice colored flagging throughout the project area identifying treatment areas, retained vegetation, and environmentally sensitive areas.

"This grant is a critical step in protecting the infrastructure our community depends on every day," said Fire Chief Rob Oatey. "By reducing hazardous fuels around NetCom, the Emergency Operations Center, and surrounding neighborhoods, we are improving emergency access, strengthening response reliability, and enhancing safety for both our residents and the firefighters who serve them. Proactive mitigation like this builds real resilience and helps ensure we can continue delivering essential services when they are needed most."

Protecting Critical Community Infrastructure

The project will reduce wildfire risk around:

  • Santa Cruz Regional 911 (NetCom)
  • Emergency Operations Center
  • City of Santa Cruz Water Department infrastructure
  • Nearby residential neighborhoods

These improvements will help protect essential emergency operations, strengthen community resilience, and improve public safety.

Planned Vegetation Treatments

Work will occur across approximately 26.6 acres of roadside fuelbreaks in the lower portion of DeLaveaga Park.

Crews will selectively remove small trees and shrubs, along with dead, dying, and diseased vegetation, to reduce hazardous fuel continuity and help slow the spread and intensity of potential wildfires.

Treatment methods include:

  • Mechanical mastication
  • Chipping
  • Manual lop-and-scatter
  • Targeted herbicide application

What Do the Flags Mean?

Visitors may notice several types of colored flagging throughout the project area:

Orange flags identify trees and vegetation that will remain following treatment.

Blue-and-white striped and pink-and-black striped flags identify protected watercourse buffer zones where equipment is excluded to help preserve sensitive riparian habitat.

The City appreciates the community's patience and cooperation as this important wildfire risk reduction project gets underway. The work will help protect critical emergency infrastructure, nearby neighborhoods, and the natural resources of DeLaveaga Park while improving the community's resilience to future wildfires.

For questions about the project, please contact the City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department at 831-420-5270 or parksandrec@santacruzca.gov.

Delaveaga-Map-_-Wildfire-Risk-Reduction-Project.pdf(PDF, 16MB)

Tagged as:
Back to top