Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish a local assistance grant program for fire prevention and home hardening education activities in California and extends eligibility for grants to specified entities, including local agencies. Existing law provides that eligible activities under the local assistance grant program include, among other things, technical assistance to local agencies to improve fire prevention and reduce fire hazards and projects to improve public safety, including, but not limited to, access to emergency equipment and improvements to public evacuation routes. Existing law makes funding for this program subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.

This bill would expand eligible activities under the local assistance grant program to include projects undertaken by a local governmental entity involving the acquisition or installation of mobile rigid dip tanks or similar mobile and permanent infrastructure that is capable of providing helicopter-accessible water supplies for firefighting response or suppression purposes in very high fire and high fire hazard severity zones, as provided.