Mission:  

Cooperatively planning and implementing a strategic fire defense system designed to reduce the threat of loss of life, property, and resources in the Southern Tuolumne and Northern Mariposa County urban-wildland interface.  

Description:  

SWIFT, established in 1999, is a collaborative partnership to protect the watershed and residential communities from wildfire in 132,000 acre area in southern Tuolumne and northern Mariposa counties. SWIFT is composed of local, county, state, and federal organizations working cooperatively to protect life, property, and resources. Fire in the wildland urban interface is complex and takes leadership, cooperation, communication and commitment. SWIFT focuses on strategic fire defense systems and pre-fire planning to mitigate the impacts of wildfire on our communities. Work includes fuel breaks, fuels reduction treatments, prescribed fire, and defensible space clearing.  

The SWIFT area has a history of large and destructive fires due to the hot, dry, windy weather in the summer coupled with steep slopes covered in a volatile mix of vegetation. 

For over 25 years the partners in SWIFT have worked together to plan and implement fuel breaks, fuels reduction treatments, prescribed fire, and defensible space clearing. SWIFT has utilized a Strategic Fire and Resource Protection Planning process to guide the partners in their efforts, planning with multi-agency coordination in all aspects of fire protection, regardless of political boundaries. The primary objective of SWIFT is to reduce potential loss of life, property, and resources in the 132,000 acre area utilizing an inter-agency team approach.  

Members: 

  • Bureau of Land Management 
  • Cal Fire, Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit & Mariposa-Madera Unit 
  • USFS, Stanislaus National Forest 
  • Hetch Hetchy/SF Water & Power 
  • Sierra Nevada Conservancy 
  • Mariposa County 
  • Mariposa Resource Conservation District 
  • Mariposa Fire Safe Council 
  • Tuolumne County 
  • Tuolumne Resource Conservation District 
  • Pine Mtn Lake Association 
  • Tuolumne Fire Safe Council 
  • PG&E 
  • Groveland Community Services District