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County approves $400,000 contract to design environmental compliance and treatment for 726-acre Woodpecker Ravine fuelbreak
Summary
The Board approved a $400,000 contract with Mason, Bruce & Gerard to prepare environmental compliance and treatment design for Phase 2 of the Woodpecker Ravine shaded fuelbreak project, a CAL FIRE‑funded wildfire prevention effort covering 726 acres funded by an approximately $4 million grant.
The Nevada County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 14 approved a $400,000 contract between the county Office of Emergency Services and contractor Mason, Bruce & Gerard to complete environmental compliance and treatment design for Phase 2 of the Woodpecker Ravine shaded fuelbreak.
Director of Emergency Services Alex Kiebel Tull told the board the Phase 2 area covers about 726 acres and is funded by an approximately $4 million CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grant. Phase 1, currently underway, treated about 410 acres under a roughly $2 million grant, he said.
Kiebel Tull described the vendor selection and timetable: Mason, Bruce & Gerard — which also worked on Phase 1 — will complete right‑of‑entry outreach, biological, botanical and cultural surveys and parcel treatment design. Kiebel Tull said environmental compliance and design work should take about a year; implementation for the larger Phase 2 area is estimated to take roughly two years with an expected project completion near October 2028.
Why it matters: The project targets strategic ridgelines and primary ingress/egress corridors below Empire Mine State Historic Park, between LaBarre Meadows and Highway 174. The fuelbreak is designed to change fire behavior to “low and slow,” giving firefighters an opportunity to respond and residents more time to evacuate, Kiebel Tull said.
Community outreach and partnerships: Kiebel Tull said the county will send right‑of‑entry forms to private landowners in the coming weeks and will hold a community town hall on Oct. 29 at Chicago Park Elementary School. He highlighted the role of Firewise communities and local registered professional foresters in building landowner buy‑in and securing access for treatments.
Action and vote: The board voted unanimously to approve the Office of Emergency Services contract with Mason, Bruce & Gerard for environmental compliance and treatment design. Roll call recorded five yes votes: District 5 — yes; District 2 — yes; District 4 — yes; District 3 — yes; District 1 — yes.
Ending: Staff said they will return with environmental documents and an implementation vendor selection once design and surveys are complete; the county will continue outreach to affected landowners and the Firewise communities to secure right‑of‑entry permissions.
