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Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program

A view of a mountain range with a wildfire burining in the distance. Title reads COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE GRANTS. Protecting communities, infrastructure, and natural resources from the threat of wildfires.

Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG) help communities and Tribes plan for and reduce wildfire risk and implement the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.

Launched in 2022, the $1 billion five-year competitive grant program is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The CWDG program is now entering the last year with competitive funding availability.

Funds can be used to:

The CWDG program prioritizes communities that:

  • Are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential,

  • Are low income or,

  • Have been impacted by a severe disaster within the previous 10 years which increased wildfire risk and/or hazard.

News and Announcements

November 3, 2026: Past CWDG applications for Round 2 and Round 3 are now available for review. 

The link above provides access to past applications and contains review and scoring information. All Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has been removed. These prior applications should help previous applicants begin preparing an improved CWDG application for the upcoming CWDG application period. It will also benefit potential new applicants who want to gain insights into how applications are reviewed and scored.

Year Three Selected Applicant Statistics

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58) established eligibility priorities for Community Wildfire Defense Grants.

100% met all three priorities of eligibility:

  • High/very high wildfire hazard,

  • low-income, and

  • impacted by a severe disaster.

View round 3 funded projects

 

  • Keeping the lights on and the fires out in rural Montana

    Two people wearing hard hats and high visibility vests talking under a powerline they and a team are working on.

    Community Wildfire Defense Grants lower risk to homes and infrastructure.

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  • Going on the Offensive in the South

    A man and a woman sit on either side of a table with a map spread out between them. The woman is pointing to areas on the map as the man looks on. 

    Communities across the South are taking action now to mitigate against the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

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  • Evacuation Highway

    A view looking down a city street towards a wildfire burning on a hillside.

    Grant paves the way for safer wildfire escape in rural central Washington.

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  • A Blueprint for Fire Prevention

    Landscape image of houses surrounded by green trees with large lake and mountains in the background.

    Lake County California puts federal support to local action.

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  • Powering Through

    White utility trucks along rural road inspect a powerline next to a forest.

    Protecting the wires in the face of wildfire threats.

    Read More