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Placer County introduces new fuels program staff and readies burn piles as fuels crew grows
Summary
Parks staff introduced new project manager Lauren Catlin and described grant-funded fuels reduction work across Tahoe and foothill areas, formation of an in-house fuels crew, upcoming forest-thinning projects, and a newly approved burn permit. Cal Fire and California Tahoe Conservancy grants were cited for multiple projects.
Placer County Parks on Tuesday outlined a stepped-up urban forestry and fuels-management effort that county staff said will expand fuels treatments and coordinate grant-funded thinning across the region.
Parks Administrator Erica Seward said the Board of Supervisors approved a funding allocation that supports an $850,000 general-fund program component that staff have used to leverage additional grant dollars. "This is the delivery of fuels reduction in this way," Seward said, describing a new project manager position to be paid in part from general fund dollars and grant matches.
Lauren Catlin, the new project manager, described several near-term projects. She said the county is working with the California Tahoe Conservancy on treatment of about 53 acres of county land on the northwest side of Lake Tahoe; 40 acres already have been treated and staff plan to complete the remaining roughly 13 acres next summer. Catlin said the Forest Hill Transfer Station fuels-reduction project is funded by Placer OES/Bridle Fork funds at about 25.5 acres and that a Cabin Creek machine-thinning project (about 144 acres) is funded with CAL FIRE money and expected to move forward pending weather and scheduling.
A commissioner asked where thinned wood is being sent; Catlin said much of the removed material has gone to Cabin Creek and that most of it is non-merchantable, adding that commercial timber harvest would require additional CAL FIRE permitting.
Mark Henry, parks operations supervisor, described building an in-house fuels crew (about five employees including extra-help positions and reassigned staff), hiring a certified-arborist supervisor from state service, and getting crew members certified and trained on equipment. Henry told the commission the county received its burn permit and will begin prescribed pile burns next week under the permit's limits, noting constraints on pile size and burn volume.
County staff said they will continue coordinating with regional partners including CAL FIRE and the California Tahoe Conservancy, and said they expect many of the projects to be boots-on-the-ground next spring and summer, subject to weather and permitting.
