Six More Fuel Reduction Projects Receive Funding through the Wildland-Urban Interface Program

Date: July 29, 2004
Contact: Jennifer Chapman, 415-464-5133

The National Park Service announced today that six additional community partnership projects will receive funding this fiscal year to achieve greater wildland fire protection in the vicinity of Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and neighboring open space lands.

The following projects have been approved for funding:

• Shallow Beach Fuels Reduction- 6 acres - $60,000
  Increases protection for Shallow Beach, a neighborhood in the community Inverness. The work will include:

a) a minimum 10-foot fuel buffer of thinned vegetation along both sides of a 1.3 mile roadway
b) strategic removal of several large Bishop pines and tan oaks overhanging roadway and fire hydrants to increase emergency access and egress
c) clearing vegetation around hydrants and water tanks
d) turn around zones for fire vehicles

Partners: Shallow Beach Association, Inverness Public Utility District, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

• Worn Springs Road Shaded Fuelbreak – 10 acres - $50,000
  Increases protection for Fairfax and San Anselmo through fuels treatment along a key section of the wildland-urban interface in coordination with Marin Municipal Water District’s fuel break system. This project is identified in MMWD’s Mount Tamalpais Vegetation Management Plan. The work will include:

a) Removing broom to reduce understory fuels
b) Thinning dense stands of trees
c) Pruning low tree branches
d) Collecting, piling, and burning accumulated down, woody material
e) Clearing along principal access routes

Partners: Marin County Fire Department, Marin Municipal Water District, Marin County Open Space District, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

• Kent Woodlands Shaded Fuelbreak, Phase 2 – 10 acres - $60,000
  This project will continue to complete a shaded fuelbreak to protect the community of Kent Woodlands, a neighborhood in Kentfield which borders public open space lands. During a wildfire, this fuel break will provide:

a) Improved firefighter effectiveness and safety by creating a staging area for fire suppression actions
b) Protection of evacuation routes and water supplies
c) Increased defensible space for structure protection

Partners: Kentfield Fire Protection District, Marin Municipal Water District, Marin County Open Space District, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

• Seahaven Roadside Fuels Reduction – 4 acres - $24,000
  Removes roadside vegetation to create a shaded fuel break protecting Seahaven, a neighborhood in Inverness.

This work will remove fuel along Via de la Vista and Camino del Mar roadways for approximately 1.4 miles. Fuel will be removed from 10 feet on each side and 14 feet above the road so fire equipment can get through. This fuel break will slow an advancing wildfire and reduce its intensity to allow safer deployment of personnel and equipment, greater emergency access by firefighters, and evacuation by residents.

Partners: Inverness Public Utility District, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

• Dover Roadside Fuels Reduction – 6 acres - $20,000
  Improves emergency access and egress along a rural road, protecting Paradise Ranch Estates, a neighborhood in Inverness Park. The work will:

a) Clear vegetation along access road
b) Repair or replace broken culverts

Partners: Inverness Ridge Association, Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

• Laurel Canyon Road Fuel Reduction – 6 acres - $21,000
  Initiate a fuel management program for a neighborhood in the community of Nicasio. The work will include:

a) Roadside vegetation clearing
b) Improve safety turnouts
c) Temporary vegetation debris transfer site and chipping program

Partners: Marin County Fire Department, FIRESafe MARIN, National Park Service

These projects are a collaborative effort to reduce fuels and protect communities from wildland fire. Throughout the interagency fire service, protection of human life is the foremost objective, followed by the protection of property. Administration of these projects is accomplished through a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and FIRESafe MARIN, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing wildland fire hazards and improving fire safety awareness in Marin County, California. The environmental planning for the projects is coordinated by the National Park Service.

Federal funding for these projects is provided through the Wildland-Urban Interface Program, a component of the National Fire Plan. Since 2001, approximately $2.5 million dollars has been allocated for wildland fire protection in communities located near parklands in Marin County. The National Fire Plan focuses on reducing hazardous fuels in places where fuel accumulation threatens communities and wildlands with increased potential for wildfire.

Ken Massucco, Chief of Marin County Fire Department stated, "The key to structure survivability is creating adequate defensible space. These projects not only increase the chances of saving homes, but protect our firefighters and citizens. The Wildland-Urban-Interface Program has helped fire agencies in Marin to enhance the safety of their communities.”

Don Neubacher, Superintendent of Point Reyes National Seashore, added, “We will continue to work with our partners to identify our shared fire protection needs, and do everything we can to get support for this program.”

For more information on the National Fire Plan, please visit www.fireplan.gov.

-NPS-