What is a CWPP?
Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) are collaborative, community-driven frameworks that outline local priorities for reducing wildfire risk. These plans serve as both a strategic guide and a practical tool to help communities identify hazards, prioritize actions, and strengthen partnerships between residents, fire agencies, land management entities, and other stakeholders.
Core Requirements
- Plans must be developed collaboratively with local government, fire departments, and state forestry agencies.
- They must identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuel reduction.
- They must recommend measures to reduce structural ignitability.
Why CWPPs Matter
CWPPs do more than document wildfire risk. They help communities organize, prioritize, and take action to reduce that risk while building long-term resilience through collaboration, planning, and access to resources.
Risk Reduction: CWPPs guide strategic, locally tailored wildfire mitigation planning that reflects each community’s unique landscapes and conditions.
Access to Funding: A completed CWPP opens doors to critical resources by enabling eligibility and prioritization for funding programs such as the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) and FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. (Source: Jakes et al., “Critical Elements in the Development and Implementation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs)”)
Community Capacity & Collaboration: The planning process itself builds trust and relationships among residents, fire professionals, and land managers. These connections strengthen community capacity and lay the foundation for adaptive wildfire resilience. (Source: Abrams, J. et al. (2005). “Re-Envisioning Community-Wildfire Relations in the U.S. West.” RMRS-P-46CD.)
Resilience & Readiness: CWPPs enhance public awareness and readiness through shared learning, local engagement, and coordinated planning, ensuring communities are better prepared before, during, and after wildfire. (Source: Brenkert-Smith, H. (2010). “Building bridges to fight fire: The role of informal social interactions in six Colorado wildland–urban interface communities.” International Journal of Wildland Fire.)
Strategic Alignment Across Partners: By aligning priorities across local, tribal, state, federal, and private partners, CWPPs improve coordination, reduce duplication, and maximize the impact of available resources. (Source: Fischer, A. P., & Charnley, S. (2012). “Risk and cooperation: Managing hazardous fuel in mixed ownership landscapes.” Environmental Management.)
Inclusive & Locally Responsive Planning: Because the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) gives communities flexibility, CWPPs can reflect local values, address equity considerations, and adapt to diverse risk profiles.
Featured Resources
Data Tools
Map WUI areas, assess fire exposure, and inform mitigation planning in your CWPP.
Check out the resources library for more; filter by Data Tools
CWPP Highlights
CWPP Resources
To navigate the CWPP Resource Library, scroll through the gallery to browse available documents by title or type. Use the search bar to quickly find specific resources, or apply filters (e.g., by resource type) to narrow your results. The list can also be downloaded by clicking the three dots and clicking “Download CSV.”
Note: Resources in this library may not reflect the most current guidance for your state. Please contact your state wildfire or forestry coordinator to confirm you are using the most up-to-date materials.