Trinity Community Resilience Project (5GG17203)

Trinity Community Resilience Project (5GG17203)

The Wateshed Research and Training Center (WRTC), plans to implement understory broadcast burning and fuel reduction activities on approximately 113 acres of private land in Weaverville, CA. Pre-burn fuel treatments to minimize fire intensities, especially along control lines and adjacent to critical infrastructure, will occur where necessary within the project area. Pre-fire treatments include fuels reduction in the form of hand thinning (with chainsaws) to remove suppressed trees (less than 8” DBH) and brush/shrubs in strategic locations. Residual materials will be treated by piling and burning, chipping, and/or lop and scatter. Burn units are subdivided by natural features on the landscape (roads, watercourses, trails etc.) to facilitate control efforts and manage smoke impacts based on burn day smoke dispersion. All handlines were established during previous fire suppression efforts, using these, along with the weaverbasin trail system, no new control lines will need to be constructed. Broadcast burning will be implemented during appropriate environmental conditions that will allow us to meet our resource objectives as per the prescribed fire burn plan. Burns will be conducted using hand ignition and other standard prescribed fire methods. Burn prescriptions would aim to reduce surface fuel loading 25-85% and understory woody vegetative cover by 15-65% from pre-burn levels. Implementaion will be in the form of a burn with partners from CAL FIRE, USFS, Trinity RCD, and the Weaverville Volunteer Fire Departments. Objectives include; reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, stimulating the growth of woody shrubs, oaks, and conifers, increasing water yields, meadow and oak restoration, encouraging the return of native grasses by reducing non-natives invasive plants, reducing conifer encroachment into the oak woodland and grassland areas.

Trinity