Fire once played a key role in maintaining healthy forests by periodically consuming underbrush and other flammable material before it accumulated to dangerous levels. However, man’s intervention and successful suppression of wildfire has allowed these flammable materials to accumulate to unnaturally high levels. This puts the forest at risk of destruction by catastrophic wildfire that could have dire consequences for all of us and for the natural environment, including huge fire suppression costs, injury, death, property damage, air pollution, massive erosion, siltation of the river, and destruction of wildlife and wildlife habitat.
Restoring the forest to a more natural and safe condition by removing the excess fuel will take a huge cooperative effort over many years. In the meantime, we can compartmentalize the forest into defensible areas so that if one area burns, adjacent areas might be saved. This can be done by restoring, expanding, and improving the existing network of old fire trails and using them as fuel breaks. Existing private driveways can be incorporated into the network as shaded fuel breaks and to provide access from County roads to the rest of the network.
Underbrush can be removed from the fuel breaks and elsewhere by a variety of means, including goats, chain saw and chipper, mobile brush mulching machinery, chain saw and pile burning, bulldozer and pile burning, or prescribed burning, depending on individual site characteristics and owner preference.
We all stand to benefit greatly if we can make it possible for CDF to stop the fire before it destroys our homes, our property, and our forest.
NVLSA has been actively involved in various fire hazard reduction activities. With others in the community, a plan to reduce the dangers of fire in the Dry Creek - Lokoya area is being developed.
The various parties met on June 11, 2004 to discuss rebuilding of fire roads in the Dry Creek - Lokoya area. The meeting minutes are available here.
UPDATE
NVLSA Sent the attached letter out in Oct 2004 to 489 property owners in the Dry Creek-Lokoya Fire District. If you live in this fire district and are interested in the project, print and mail this form to NVLSA.
The July 2004 newsletter of Forest Landowners of California discusses the Board of Forestry's Fuel Hazard Reduction Emergency Rule.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District regulations no longer prohibit burning brush piles created by your fire hazard reduction efforts (hazard reduction burning). Excerpts of the policy related to fire hazard reduction are posted here, and the complete text of the regulations is available on the BAAQMD site. The accompanying notification form for BAAQMD is available on the BAAQMD site.
Rural Technology Initiative (RTI) has published a fact sheet entitled "Investments in Fuel Removals to Avoid Forest Fires Result in Substantial Benefits". The link to it is here.
The following photos are before and after shots of a firebreak clearing project. Click on the photos to view a larger version.
Before firebreak clearing : |
After firebreak clearing : |
