Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)

A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a locally developed strategy for communities located in wildfire-prone areas. It is created through collaboration among community members, local fire agencies, government officials, and other interested stakeholders.

Two Core Objectives of CWPP

1. To identify and prioritize fuel reduction treatments in the surrounding landscape and describe how those treatments will be implemented.  

2. To recommend practical measures that reduce structural ignitability (i.e., make homes and buildings less likely to catch fire).

Beyond these functions, the process of developing a CWPP helps communities clarify their priorities for protecting life, property, and critical infrastructure in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).  

It is designed as a living document that is regularly reviewed and updated as community conditions, risks, and priorities evolve.

CWPP Resources

• The Forest and Rangelands website provides more information about the importance of CWPPs, as well as a CWPP handbook to download: https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/documents/resources/communities/cwpphandbook.pdf

• FEMA has a best practices for creating a CWPP document on their website here: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/creating_a_cwpp.pdf