Lake County >> Though the peak of fire season may be months away, the only break fire crews are taking is a fuel break.
Cal Fire personnel have begun to reduce the impact of potential wildfires by clearing areas of heavy vegetation around homes in the Rivieras area. The effort is known as the Mt. Konocti Wildland Urban Interface Project.
“For a long time the Rivieras have been a high-hazard concern, with a large population and heavy brush that has not burned in quite some time,” Cal Fire’s Mike Wilson said.
The fuel break project is meant to protect residents and homes from the threat of disastrous fires by creating a defensible space between wildland and populated areas. This would also allow firefighters and aircraft to more safely effectively combat a fire, according to the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit division chief for vegetation management.
Cal Fire has split up the project into five treatment areas: Riviera Heights, Riviera West, Riviera Estates, Clearlake Riviera and Thurston Lake. Defensible spaces ranging in size from 100 to 300 feet across will be created, said fire captain Emily Smith, of the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
Crews began work earlier this month at the Thurston Lake Treatment Area, which starts at Soda Bay Road and continues to the site behind the Riviera Elementary School. They are using two different methods to create the fuel break.
“On the west end of the treatment area, bulldozers removed most of the flammable vegetation, but retained some clumps of brush and trees in order to reduce erosion and provide wildlife habitat,” Wilson said.
A masticator, an attachment on an excavator machine, is being used on the east end to grind vegetation and place leaves behind chipped material, Wilson said.
“This method is a relatively light-on-the-land treatment that causes minimal compaction and erosion,” he said. “The masticated material is being spread throughout the project, and will not require pile burning for disposal.”
Much like the first phase of the project, the operator will remove the more flammable, less desirable brush such as chamise, while leaving behind some scattered vegetation including manzanita plants and oak trees throughout the fuel break, according to Wilson.
“So aesthetically it still looks good, not just bare land,” Smith said.
The job for that area is expected to be completed within the month, she said. It will take roughly two years to complete the entire project. After that, Cal Fire plans on revisiting the project site after five years to maintain the fuel break, although it will depend on the rate of the vegetation growth.
Funding for the project comes from the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fee (SRAFPF). The Kelseyville Fire Protection District was granted SRAFPF funds to complete remaining work around neighborhoods in the Riviera, Wilson said.
Project areas include both public and private land. Wilson called it as a multi-pronged approach.
“Homeowners association is doing their part, and Cal Fire is trying to do their part putting in the external fuel break,” he said.
Cal Fire defensible space inspectors have done hundreds of checks in the Rivieras the last couple of years, and Smith said that will start back up again beginning March 1 around Lake County.
For some spots, Cal Fire needs permission to create the fuel break on or around private properties. Smith called homeowners “really gracious” with allowing crews onto their land.
“Now more than ever people are open to granting access,” Wilson said.
To find out more about creating a defensible space or other fire prevention methods visit http://calfire.ca.gov/.
