Wildfire Preparedness in Los Gatos

Wildfire Preparedness Efforts

Over the last several years the Town Council has taken policy and budgetary actions to address the Town’s significant risk of wildfire.  Of note, the following recent actions were taken:

January 2026: Open Space Vegetation Management work will continue in the Heintz and Santa Rose Open Space areas. This work is funded through grant DR4407-PJ0506 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.   Following the open space work, maintenance vegetation management will occur in Worcester, Novitiate and La Rinconada Parks. The maintenance work is a follow up to the vegetation management work completed in spring 2025 and is funded through the Town’s required local match to the FEMA grant mentioned above.

December 2025: The Town entered into an agreement with an environmental consulting firm to support development of environmental documentation for roadside vegetation management work.  This environmental clearance work is being funded through Phase I of grant DR4569-694-032 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

September 2025: Submitted a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application (via Cal OES) for an Outdoor Emergency Warning System serving WUI neighborhoods; final scope contingent on grant award and engineering.

September 2025: Council adopted the updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), adding an Access & Functional Needs chapter, clarifying roles and procedures, setting baseline training expectations, and aligning hazard profiles with County planning.

August 2025: Advanced Vegetation Management Plan update funding via competitive grant submittals (CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Planning, California Fire Safe Council State Fire Capacity, and USDA Community Wildfire Defense Grant).

August 2025: Hosted two Firewise USA information sessions (August 16 and August 26) supporting neighborhood-level preparedness in WUI areas.

August 2025: Submitted a CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Planning grant for a Town-wide Evacuation Plan with simulation-based modeling.

July 2025: Closed the Town-wide Evacuation Plan RFP; three proposals under review to update zone-based strategies and integrate model-supported traffic mitigations.

July 2025: Submitted a Fire Risk Reduction Community (FRRC) application; following technical review, the application was recommended for approval, with final Board of Forestry action expected in June 2026.

July 2025: Conducted Emergency Operations Center Section-specific training courses.

April 2025: Starting March 17, 2025, the Town began vegetation management for wildfire prevention in Town parks and open spaces. Work was conducted in accordance with the Vegetation Management Plan for Roads and Open Spaces (see June 2021 entry below). Following final environmental review and assessment of each location by qualified biologists, the Town's contractor performed vegetation management activities at La Rinconada Park, Worcester Park, and Novitiate Park before moving over to the Heintz and Santa Rosa Open Space areas and Belgatos Park. This work is funded through grant DR4407-PJ0506 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the local match.  

January 2025: The Town Council unanimously voted to add a full-time Emergency Manager position to the Fiscal Year 2024/25 Budget and approve an expenditure budget adjustment in the amount if $1,000,000 for emergency management efforts.

December 2024: The Town Council adopted Annex 9 Town of Los Gatos Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) of the Santa Clara County CWPP.

September 2024: The Town Council adopted a resolution approving the Town of Los Gatos Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Annex to the County of Santa Clara Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP).

Summer/Fall 2024: The Town begins implementation of the Open Space Vegetation Management Plan by contracting the services of a biologist to monitor the work and a contractor to execute the plan. This work is funded through grant DR4407-PJ0506 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the local match.  

Spring 2024: A part-time Wildfire Project Manager was hired by the Town to support implementation of the Vegetation Management Plan in both Open Space and Roadsides.  .

December 2023: The Town contracted for the removal of high fire potential eucalyptus trees along Overlook Road.  This work was funded by Town Matching Funds to the USDA grant received in March 2023 (Grant 22-DG-11052012-134).

August 2023: The Town received final clearance for implementation of the Open Space portion of the Vegetation Management Plan in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This was funded via Phase I of grant DR4407-PJ0506 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the local match.  

March 2023: Council directed staff to use a portion of the USDA funding to remove 18 eucalyptus trees on Overlook Road, which is designated as a Priority 3 Roadway in the Vegetation Management Plan.

March 2022: The Town was awarded a $750,000 federal earmark for roadside vegetation management. This funding is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture as Grant 22-DG-11052012-134) and requires a $750,000 match for total project funding of $1,500,000. Town Council accepted this award in September 2022. 

June 2021: The Vegetation Management Plan for Roads and Open Spaces is completed.

June 2021: Town Council authorized staff to apply for funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.   An application was submitted for roadside fire fuel reduction. The Town was awarded $1,467,388 for roadside work with $489,130 of town funds required for a match (total project cost of $2,002,828). This was assigned grant number DR4569-694-032 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.   

2021 and 2022: The Town completed vegetation management for fire fuel reduction work on roadways identified as Priority 1 and Priority 2 in the Vegetation Management Plan.  Approximately 11 miles of roadside vegetation was cleared using Town funding. This work was funded by Town General Fund.

October - December 2020: Town Council approved the creation of a Town Council Ad Hoc Committee to study wildfire mitigation in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).  The Committee studied a broad variety of wildfire mitigation policy and project options to improve the Town’s wildfire resiliency.  The Committee examined best practices of similar WUI communities, lessons learned from recent fires, and other relevant areas of wildfire science culminating in the Ad Hoc Wildfire Committee Report.

September 2020: The Town Council adopted a Roadside Vegetation Management Plan and authorized staff to begin roadside vegetation management.   

June 2020: Town Council authorized an agreement between the Town and SWCA to develop a Vegetation Management Plan for Town open spaces and roadsides and directed staff to expedite the development of the roadside plan.

Council budget actions included:

• $250,000 toward 11 miles of roadside fuel reduction in the WUI
• $1.5 million toward rehabilitating portions of Shannon Road 
• $500,000 toward ecological assessment and first year of fuel removal in Town-owned open space

April 2020:  Council authorized the sale of property at Winchester and Lark to the Santa Clara County Fire District. Transaction sets the stage for County Fire to build a state-of-art fire station at the location and house significant wildfire fighting equipment in Town.

January 2020:  Town Council took several actions:

• Amended Chapter 9 (Fire Protection and Protection) of the Town Code and adopted a 5 foot nonflammable zone requirement around new structures in the WUI.  Council also adopted language which requires defensible space beyond property lines in certain circumstances.
• Amended Chapter 11 (Garbage, Refuse, and Weeds) of the Town Code and increased required weed abatement along roadways from 5 feet to 10 feet. 
• Amended Chapter 29 (Tree Protection) of the Town Code and categorized trees removed or maintained in the furtherance of defensible space as exceptions to tree protections.
• Amendment to Chapter 9, Chapter 11, and Chapter 29

November 2019:  Town Council amended Chapter 11 (Garbage, Refuse, and Weeds) of the Town Code, expanding the definition of weeds.

October 2019:  Town Council accepted the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Evacuation Assessment Report. 

July 2019: The Town applied for funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for open space related vegetation management.  The Town was awarded $1,502,121 with $500,707 of Town funds required for a match (total project cost of $2,002,828). This is grant DR4407-PJ0506 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.