Nevada County, U.S. Forest Service fund two Deer Creek fuels‑reduction projects to protect evacuation routes and watershed

Nevada County supervisors approved two wildfire fuels‑reduction actions on Sept. 23, accepting a U.S. Forest Service federal financial assistance award for a Nevada City and County fuels project and authorizing a contract with the Nevada County Resource Conservation District to implement a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) planning and implementation project for the Lower Deer Creek / Penn Valley area.

Both proposals were presented to the Board by Alex Gubel Toll, the county’s director of emergency services. Gubel Toll said the projects are drawn from the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan and prioritized because the Deer Creek watershed contains steep canyons, constrained evacuation routes and assets the county wants to protect. “Collaboration at the end of the day is really what is getting the job done,” he told supervisors.

Why it matters: the projects target landscape areas where fire behavior and topography combine to create heightened risk for communities and evacuation corridors. Commissioners and presenters emphasized that placing publicly funded treatments where they protect many households and critical egress routes produces broader community benefit than treatments limited to single parcels.

Project specifics and funding - Nevada City and County Deer Creek Fuels Project: The U.S. Forest Service Tahoe National Forest awarded $522,000 to fund implementation work that includes mastication on private parcels and treatments near access routes and infrastructure. City of Nevada City staff said the project was prioritized in local planning and has strong local Firewise‑community support. The board voted to accept and ratify the award.

- Lower Deer Creek / Penn Valley Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project: Funded under FEMA HMGP, the phase‑1 planning award was previously accepted by the board in March 2025. The county presented a project management contract with the Nevada County Resource Conservation District (RCD) to run the planning and landowner outreach. The HMGP grant is described by staff as roughly $700,000 with local match coming from Firewise communities (the presentation cited community match of about $233,000 in volunteer hours, and staff said roughly $200,000 in local match had been identified). The project aims to treat multiple priority areas (presenters listed separate acreage bands focused on infrastructure, evacuation routes and watershed protection). The board authorized the RCD contract and budget adjustments.

Board discussion City and county partners, U.S. Forest Service staff and RCD representatives joined the presentation. Evan McLennahan, Community Risk Reduction and Outreach Officer for the City of Nevada City, described the project as “an obvious fit” because it capitalizes on prior planning, environmental review and community buy‑in. County staff noted that the Lower Deer Creek project involves many private properties and requires signed rights‑of‑entry before work can occur; more than 700 rights‑of‑entry were reported as sent to landowners during outreach.

Supervisors pressed staff on long‑term maintenance and landowner responsibility. Director Gubel Toll said the county and partners view public funding as the costly “initial entry” work to reset fuels conditions; maintenance is expected to be primarily the landowner’s responsibility thereafter and the RCD will provide education and follow‑up to encourage multi‑year care. One supervisor noted that several landowners included at least a 10‑year maintenance commitment in their letters of support.

Formal actions and vote The board took two separate roll‑call votes. The resolution accepting the USDA Forest Service Tahoe National Forest Federal Financial Assistance Award for the Nevada City and County Deer Creek Fuels Project was approved 5–0 (Districts 5, 2, 4, 3 and 1 each recorded “Yes”). The resolution approving the contract between the County of Nevada and the Nevada County RCD for the Lower Deer Creek Penn Valley Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project was approved 5–0.

What’s next Staff said the county will return with a procurement recommendation for environmental compliance and treatment design work for the Lower Deer Creek project and will coordinate implementation when landowner rights‑of‑entry and environmental clearances are complete. Presenters said the work is intended to protect thousands of parcels in the project area and to support constrained evacuation communities such as Lake Wildwood.

Quotes “Collaboration at the end of the day is really what is getting the job done,” — Alex Gubel Toll, Director of Emergency Services, Nevada County.

“This project really exemplifies partnership,” — Evan McLennahan, Community Risk Reduction and Outreach Officer, City of Nevada City.

Ending Supervisors and partners described the approvals as a next step to translate multi‑year planning in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan into on‑the‑ground treatments that protect evacuation routes and watershed resources. The county will continue outreach to private landowners to secure permissions and to coordinate maintenance plans after initial fuel‑reduction work is completed.