Fire Prevention Grant - Progress Report #5

by: CLERC Staff

CLERC is over a year into implementing the Lake County Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project - Phase 1 and we're finally starting to see some major progress. Below are some highlights from CLERC's most recently submitted progress report to CAL FIRE.

Mount Konocti Interface

​CLERC has obtained the cooperation of two landowners of property that borders on the Clearlake Riviera subdivision to allow a 300 foot shaded fuel break to be created in the footprint of a 2016 CAL FIRE-produced fuel break. 

​The Riviera West and Riviera Heights Homeowners Associations are cooperating in taking the lead on maintaining the fuel break adjacent to their subdivisions. They have chosen a contractor for fuel break maintenance using goat browsing. The goats are more economical than hand crews given the steep slopes. The goat herder, by careful planning in terms of goat intensity and length of time grazing, can graze to kill everything or to leave trees as a shaded fuel break. To date the goats have grazed a total of 66 acres of shaded fuel break with funds secured through CLERC.

Scotts Valley Shaded Fuel Break

​CLERC worked with a landowner in Scotts Valley who is a heavy equipment operator and able to perform the work himself. In total 52 acres of shaded fuel breaks were maintained by the landowner utilizing a dozer rented with CAL FIRE grant funds. The consulting ecologist surveyed the project area prior to the dozer work to ensure that no rare or endangered plants or animals were impacted.

Davis Fuel Break

​This has been a collaboration between three major landowners, BLM, County of Lake, and Russ Cremer (City of Clearlake Council member) and his family who have owned their land for generations. BLM’s Fire Management Specialist stated that BLM’s “leadership was very happy with the work and thrilled with our partnership”. 

Leadership was very happy with the work and thrilled with our partnership - Fire Management Specialist, Bureau of Land Management

​Task comprised a combination of mastication and dozer brush piling in decadent old chaparral, and hand tree thinning in drought stressed dense blue oak woodland and removal of ladder fuel branches on mature trees. In some areas of oak woodland, manzanita/chamise/whitethorn chaparral was encroaching. Ladder fuel and hand-removed understory chaparral was broadcast-chipped. Thinned and dead oaks were left for firewood to be used by the property owner and extended family. Work started on May 21st and was completed on June 21st. A total of 74 acres were treated. 

South Lake Fire Safe Council (SLFSC) Chipping Program

​CLERC is now funding the South Lake Fire Safe Council's very successful chipping program, with many more landowners participating in the program because there is no cost to the landowner other than their sweat equity in producing the fuel for chipping (being recorded as match). During the week of May 31st, a usually four-day period of chipping was extended to five days due to demand. 33 sites were chipped removing fuel from 214 acres.

High Fire Risk Commercial Lot in The City of Clearlake

​A high fire risk lot adjacent to a commercial area in the City of Clearlake was used to train CAL FIRE equipment operators. This decadently unmanaged forested area of 24.8 acres was partially cleared of vegetation by CAL FIRE mastication and dozer piling. Burn piles will be burned when appropriate. A contractor will perform the rest of the work under contract to CLERC. 

Regional Prioritization Planning

The past three months of work have been focused on finalizing reports to the Lake County Resource Conservation District (RCD), fine-tuning a county-wide prioritization system for fire management projects, producing online maps and other information that can be made available to the public, and organizing a fire safety meeting in the Blue Lakes region of the county. The RCD is now in possession of all new community and tribal fire management projects, which they will then add to the updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The prioritization system is ready for use and produces results that appear accurate based on community consultation. Both a story-map describing the CWPP update process and a web-map of CWPP priorities are finished and are posted for public use on the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center website (www.clerc.co).

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