SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is nearly finished with dozens of prioritized fuel reduction projects across the state that were approved last year.
Newsom announced that Cal Fire has completed work on 34 of 35 “emergency” projects identified in 2019 to help reduce public safety risk in 200 communities at high risk of wildfires. All of the 35 projects are now working fuel breaks in case of wildfire, with the final project scheduled for completion this spring, the governor’s press office said. Two of the projects successfully protected Santa Barbara residents during the wind-driven Cave Fire before Thanksgiving.
Recognizing the need for urgent action in the wake of the Camp Fire, the Woolsey Fire and the Carr Fire, among the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in state history, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation in March 2019 at an event in Middletown that directed Cal Fire to immediately implement projects and other measures to protect wildfire-vulnerable communities.
Cal Fire, the National Guard and the California Conservation Corps crews worked together at an emergency pace to complete what are typically multi-year projects in less than one year, the governor’s office said.
While Cal Fire resources from the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit are being used to conduct several hundred acres of fuel breaks in Lake County, none of the 35 priority projects sped up for completion last year were located here.
Asked by this newspaper why none of the projects were located in Lake County, Cal Fire Division Chief Tom Knecht said on Wednesday that none had been eligible at the time of approval.
“One of the requirements to qualify,” Knecht said, “was to have a project that had completely cleared the environmental review process—what we call ‘shovel-ready.’” No planned fuel reduction projects met that criterion in Lake County, Knecht said.
Still, more than 300 acres of fuel break work is currently underway here, according to numbers provided by Knecht. A 223-acre shaded fuel break along 10 miles of Bottle Rock Road began work in December. Another roughly 100-acre cluster of fuel breaks is being created in the Clear Lake Riviera.
“We call that one our Golden Gate Bridge,” Knecht said. The project’s actual title is the Mt. Konocti Interface Fuel Break, he noted, and it’s targeted at “neighborhood defense” in the relatively densely populated neighborhoods around Mt. Konocti. Knecht said that between these two major projects, many of the Cal Fire resources currently available in Lake County are being kept busy.
“Trying to treat 300 acres over the course of three years or so with some fire trucks and hand crews is actually a lot,” he said, adding that for this reason, the state agency is working with local organizations like the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center, the South Lake Fire Safe Council and the Siegler Springs Community Redevelopment Association to locate grant funds for more fuel reduction and fire safety education projects.
More resources could be coming down the chute to Lake County. The governor’s recently-proposed budget could add hundreds more Cal Fire positions statewide as well as additional engines, but Knecht and Cal Fire Captain Scott McLean said they could not confirm whether Lake County would see its resources increase or not. “It’s definitely not in stone yet,” McLean said.
McLean added that in the 2019 fiscal year, 13 new fire engines and 10 fuel reduction hand crews were added to Cal Fire’s roster. McLean could not immediately confirm whether or not Lake County had received any of those resources, but noted the resources will serve all around the state.
The projects on the 2019 priority list collectively have treated 90,000 acres, according to the governor’s office. Work included removal of hazardous dead trees, vegetation clearing, creation of fuel breaks and community defensible spaces, and creation of ingress and egress corridors. These projects, among other things, help keep evacuation routes open in case of wildfires.
“California isn’t just waiting around for next fire season. We are acting quickly – with emergency pace – to protect communities most at risk and save lives before the wildfire starts,” said Newsom. “The unprecedented scale of the crisis requires an unprecedented response. These projects are part of California’s all-of-the-above and all-hands-on-deck approach to preventing and fighting wildfires.”
Additionally, in November 2019, two of these emergency fuel breaks were used to protect Santa Barbara residents during the wind-driven Cave Fire, resulting in no lives or structures lost, the governor’s office said.
In addition, several longer-term actions are underway to systematically address community vulnerability and fuels buildup. Steps are being taken to build on current home-hardening activities, including educating the public and promoting use of Cal Fire’s “Ready for Wildfire” web app to identify defensible space and home-hardening techniques residents can take.
McLean added that the 35 priority projects coming to completion now, like all fuel reduction projects, will need to be maintained to remain effective.
“This is not a one-time deal,” McLean said. “You need to go back every few years to make sure that they’re maintained.”
