Wildfire knows no jurisdictional boundaries so fire prevention efforts must be proactive, regional responses. After the devastating wildfires of 2017 in neighboring counties, an interdisciplinary team in Marin County met to identify how to best address the new wildfire paradigm. In 2018, the Marin County Fire Department released a report, "Lessons Learned from the 2017 North Bay Fire Siege" and in 2019, the Marin County Civil Grand Jury released "Wildfire Preparedness: A New Approach".
One key finding was that no single agency existed for coordinating wildfire prevention activities across jurisdictional boundaries. Additionally, existing fire budgets were not adequate for the necessary prevention efforts.
A 10-year parcel tax called Measure C was placed on the ballot and approved by voters in March 2020 to fund proactive, state-of-the-art wildfire prevention and preparedness efforts through a Joint Powers Agreement among 17 member agencies covering most of Marin County. MWPA coordinates and funds these agencies to create more fire adapted communities based on the priorities outlined in the Marin County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Measure C funds are to be spent and administered in each of the five MWPA Operational Zones, as set forth in the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Operational Boundaries Map (shown below).
