April 1, 2012

This year marks the 6th year that the Lassen County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Working Group has gathered, reviewed and ranked projects and also reviewed and adopted changes to the Wildland Urban Interface boundaries throughout the county. Each year we are finding more ways to work collaboratively together.

Lassen County Fire Safe Council, Inc. continues to build on our strong partnerships and we have an aggressive program of active and planned fuel treatments. We are also ramping up the pace of getting Lassen County communities organized through the Firewise Communities USA program with 6 active communities to date.

Part and parcel of this Firewise effort is our one-on-one contact with residents through our Risk Assessment in the Home Ignition Zone consultations. Here residents learn what they can do to reduce structural ignitability in the advent of a nearby wildfire. Over 200 were conducted last year. One important point to remember: Many of the homes that are lost in wildfires are ignited by embers from a fire a substantial distance away, and then the home ignites the adjacent vegetation, not vice versa! As we say in our homeowner consultations: “This new information is standing things on their head in California where there is a huge and important emphasis on defensible space.” Just having defensible space will not protect the home from an ember shower, one must also address structural ignitability. We continue to receive rave reviews from residents during our visits and we often hear “I had no idea…”

Last year we set another record for acres treated within our communities with over 1,200 acres completed in the Susanville area, Lake Forest, and the Day Lassen Bench community. This year will be another busy year with funded projects in Clear Creek, Janesville and Big Valley, and potentially more when the Sierra Nevada Conservancy makes their funding decisions in June.

None of our work would be possible without the Title III funding financial support that has been granted to us by the Lassen County Board of Supervisors. They support our activities and in turn we leverage these funds to bring more Firewise programs and treatments to our communities. That helps protect residents and it helps residents protect themselves.

A big thank you to all our partners in the Lassen County CWPP Working Group,

Dorine Blankenship,

Chair