Diamond Star Fuels Reduction Project

Diamond Star Fuels Reduction Project

Obiectives: To reduce hazardous fuels, provide safer ingress and egress, improve fire protection to rangeland, livestock grazing and recreational areas to residents along Diamond Star Road. The treatment area is a 1.6-mile length of road encompassing 22 acres. The project area is classified as "very high" fire severity zone. This project benefits the nearby community of private subdivisions livestock grazing lands that are economically important and underground natural gas lines that not only affect Tehama Glenn Unit, but the entire state. This fuel break would create a possible stopping point for any fire starts along highway 36 between Cottonwood Creek and Diamond Star road. treatment Methods: CAL FIRE hand crews will remove ladder fuels and fuel loading 50 feet on both sides of Diamond Star Road. This will be accomplished by, brushing, thinning and removing live (10" dbh. and under) and downed trees to decrease ladder fuels and fuel loading. Trees to be retained are those with a dbh. of 1 0" and greater and will have their branches pruned up to 8' above ground level with a minimum live crown ratio of 20%. The cut vegetation will be chipped, scattered and or put in piles for burning. Location: The project is located the western Sacramento Valley Foothills adjacent to the California Coastal Range off of Highway 36 west of Red Bluff and west of Cannon Road in western Tehama County. Elevations range from 700 to 900 feet. The vegetation is characterized by grasses, foothill pine, blue oak woodlands and mixed brush. The climate is Mediterranean, characterized by wet, cool winters and dry warm summers. Watercourses present within project vicinity: South Fork Cottonwood Creek, a class I watercourse is located approximately 400 feet from the project. An unnamed tributary to this watercourse crosses through the project, which will have a 75-foot buffer where the only activity will be climbing and pruning tree branches. Timing: Work is subject to weather, anticipated to begin late 2019 and be completed prior to spring 2020.

Tehama