SCH Number 2023120309

Project Info

Title

North Susanville WUI Fuels Treatment Project

Description

The +/- 67,505-acre fuel reduction and forest/woodland health improvement project would tie in to other LFSC an HLVRCD projects west and south of the City of Susanville, eventually creating a landscape-scale defensible zone around the City of Susanville. This project would create a defensible zone west and north of the City of Susanville and represents one of the only areas around the City of Susanville that has not been impacted by recent wildfires, including the Hog Fire (2020), Sheep Fire (2020), and the Dixie Fire (2021) (See Figure 3). This would create a defensible space that could be used to fight wildfire moving from the City of Susanville north toward wildlands, or wildfire moving toward communities from the north. The goals of the project include reducing threats to communities from large, severe wildfires by clearing vegetation from critical locations to reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread on the landscape. The project would reduce fuels, improve access and safety for firefighting personnel, and improve forest/woodland health using a variety of techniques, including: mechanical treatments, mastication, hand treatments, pile burning, broadcast burning, emergent brush treatments, and reforestation of areas within the project area impacted by past fires. Means of shrub and small tree removal -- would be selected based on careful analysis of current site conditions including weather, time of year, and the presence of sensitive cultural or biological resources, as described in this document. This includes hazard and overstocked tree removal within communities; implementation of landscape-scale fuel treatments around and near communities; the expansion of existing fuel breaks and establishment of new fuel break; protection of critical infrastructure; and improve ingress and egress along roads used by the public and used during fire suppression activities. Usually, more than one tool/technique would be present on site at a time so that operations can be carefully optimized for site conditions.

3 documents in project