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Nevada County OES prioritizes roadside defensible-space work on private roads serving Alta Sierra, Lake Wildwood
Summary
Ricky Martinez of the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services described a defensible-space effort focused on private roads that serve as secondary ingress and egress for Alta Sierra and Lake Wildwood, saying the county is prioritizing vegetation clearance to reduce wildfire fuel loading and aid first responders.
Ricky Martinez, defensible space inspector supervisor with the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services, said the agency is prioritizing roadside vegetation clearance on private roads that can serve as secondary ingress and egress for Alta Sierra and Lake Wildwood to reduce wildfire fuel loading and potential flame intensity.
"What we're trying to do here is work with landowners on private roads, such as this, to reduce this fuel loading off the side of the road, to reduce that flame intensity if a fire were to come through here," Martinez said, adding that the program aims to educate landowners about defensible space and roadside vegetation clearance.
Martinez said his background includes about eight years as a wildland firefighter with the Tahoe National Forest, and he has worked for Nevada County for just over five years. He said he joined OES about a year and a half ago and described the defensible-space inspector (DSI) program as small but focused.
"Current moment, 3 is all is all we are as far as the DSI program," Martinez said, and urged landowners to engage their Firewise community for assistance. He said the county can also offer "available resources" to help property owners through the process.
Martinez framed the work as both a safety measure for residents and a way to help first responders access fires and protect neighbors during evacuations. "We're relying heavily on our evacuation study to give us a starting point as to where to go first, where to prioritize the work," he said.
The presentation described the county's defensive-space activities as prioritization and outreach rather than a regulatory change. Martinez said the program's challenge is the scale of the problem across Nevada County and emphasized the need to "chip away at it slowly" while keeping a "positive mindset."
No formal votes or ordinance changes were discussed during Martinez's remarks; the comments were presented as a staff overview of current priorities and methods for engaging landowners and Firewise groups. The next steps Martinez identified are to use the evacuation study to set priorities and to continue offering resources and education to landowners.
