“The length of fire season is estimated to have increased by 75 days across the Sierras and seems to correspond with an increase in the extent of forest fires across the state.” - CalFire
Dear neighbors:
The excerpt above is taken from CalFire’s summary of the 2020 fire season. It continues:
“Climate change is considered a key driver of this trend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures, reduced snowpack, and earlier spring snowmelt create longer and more intense dry seasons that increase moisture stress on vegetation and make forests more susceptible to severe wildfire.”
What this means to the 6B and Friends neighborhood is that we have to start thinking differently about fire season. The fire season, it seems, is pretty much year-round.
It appears that we are headed into another below average precipitation year, so now is the time to undertake fire-prevention tasks. Here are some tips for this time of year:
It’s OK to take care of those burn piles, but you must check on burn day status before you begin to burn. Call (530) 274-7928 or visit Air Quality to check. Burn piles should be a maximum of 4 feet in diameter with 10 feet of circular bare earth clearance.
Have a shovel and water source nearby for fire suppression.
Burn only DRY and non-painted material to minimize air pollution.
Be considerate of your neighbors!
Do not burn on windy days, regardless of burn day status
If you hire landscapers or do-it-yourself workers, be sure to get second opinions about plant selections. It is safest to avoid highly flammable types such as juniper and eucalyptus, especially within 30 feet of any structure. Contact one of our neighborhood Defensive Space Advisors for help with tips on making your home and property more fire prepared: trentrpridemore@gmail.com, karenvpridemore@gmail.com, laurend@ncws.com. Karen Pridemore is especially knowledgeable about native plants and safer plant selection. Healthy trees need sunlight, water and nutrients. Dense growth impacts tree health and the forest’s ability to fight insect infestation, so take a hard look at your property to determine if it needs some forest management. Maintenance tasks include thinning small-diameter trees within 100 feet and beyond of your home, separating small groups of trees and brush so that their crowns (top-most foliage) are at least 15 feet apart, removing the lower limbs of tall trees 15 feet up or ¼ up the height of smaller trees, and removing all brush (ladder fuels) underneath trees. NOW is an excellent time to work on our properties when bark beetles are not active and birds are not raising their young in the forest canopy.
Twenty-six out of 77 6B and Friends property owners submitted hours and money spent on fire prevention for the past year, a 34 percent response rate. The responding property owners reported 5,834 hours worked and $305,000 spent.
This is a good response, but we are hoping to get that percentage even higher next year. As you know, we are required to submit an annual report in order to maintain our certified Firewise Community status with the state. Here is a simple form you can use to keep track of money and hours you spend between Nov. 1 2020 and Oct. 31, 2021. Contact Karen at karenvpridemore@gmail.com or (530) 274-8770 with any questions
A happy and safe holiday season to all of you! We’ll see you in 2021.
Your Firewise Committee,
Lauren Drutz, Lynn Forbes, Karen Pridemore, Trent Pridemore and Jim Walters