El Dorado County approves $550K grant to help Grizzly Flats residents rebuild after Caldor Fire

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 on April 7 to launch a rebuild program for Grizzly Flats homeowners still recovering from the 2021 Caldor Fire, authorizing $550,150 from the county's affordable housing special revenue fund to get the effort off the ground. The program pairs qualifying homeowners with nonprofit builder Homemade Sacramento and local volunteers to construct predesigned 750 square-foot homes with the county filling financing gaps through forgivable loans. Homemade Sacramento has committed to contributing at least 50 percent of labor and materials through volunteers with organizers expecting to surpass that threshold and begin construction on the first two homes as early as May 4. To protect county funds, supervisors attached several conditions to the program, including an income eligibility cap at 80 percent of area median income, a five-year owner-occupancy requirement and restrictions preventing homeowners from converting units to rentals or subordinating the county's deed of trust during the loan period. Any unspent funds at the close of each project will be returned to the affordable housing fund. The program initially targets 12 homes and is designed to count completed units toward the county's state-mandated low-income housing numbers. For Grizzly Flats residents who lost everything in the Caldor Fire, the approval marks a meaningful step toward finally coming home. To read the full board minutes, visit eldoradocounty.ca.gov/County-Government/Board-of-Supervisors.