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COLLEGE STATION – Landowners in Central Texas can apply now for grants to help reduce risks posed to their properties by wildfire. The State Fire Assistance for Mitigation – Mechanical Fuels Grant offers financial assistance to landowners to reduce fuels at high-risk for wildfire by using mechanical fuel reduction practices. Funding will be provided to private landowners for reimbursement costs associated with hand-cut fuel breaks using chainsaws or mechanical mulching using mechanical brush cutters, forestry mulchers, and similar pieces of equipment. Fuel breaks are a removed section of vegetation that can decrease intensity of fires, protect first responders by giving them wide access lanes, and slow incoming wildfires. Thirty-two counties in Central Texas are eligible for funding of actual costs not to exceed $750 per acre for hand-cut fuel breaks or $2,000 per acre for mulched fuel breaks. The maximum reimbursement for either method is $10,000. Priority will be given to landowners who live within the designated counties, are situated to protect the most homes and values, are located in a county or city that has an active Community Wildfire Protection Plan, or live within a Firewise USA Site. After the application deadline, submissions will be ranked and approval or denial letters will be sent by Sept. 30, 2022. If approved, applicants have 90 days to contract and complete the fuel break work. Learn more about the State Fire Assistance for Mitigation – Mechanical Fuel Reduction grant, view an eligibility map, and apply at https://bit.ly/3IB6LDa. |