FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Capuchino Yosemite Sequoia RC&D Council Phone: (559) 580.3042
Email: info@ysrcandd.org
Madera County Roads Hazard Abatement Stewardship Project Beginning Soon Hazardous Fuels Reduction on Madera Roads in the County Sierra National Forest. Fuel Treatment & Site Preparation to Increase Public Safety & Enhance Forest Health.
[Bass Lake, Oakhurst, North Fork, California July 8, 2022 —]
Work on the Madera County Roads Hazard Abatement Stewardship Project is set to begin in Mid-July. Work will occur throughout the rest of 2022 as weather and conditions allow. There will be hand crews and mechanical teams working on roads near Bass Lake. Teams will begin with work on Rd 420 between Rd 223 and the private lands on 420 and Rd 223 past Rd 426. Crews will move onto Rd 426 from the turn-off to the Forks Resort and 273 (Bass Lake Upper Road). Please exercise patience, use caution, and drive safely around the work zones as the work is being completed.
This 567-acre project is made possible by a Shared Stewardship initiative with the Bass Lake Ranger District of Sierra National Forest, CAL FIRE MMU, and Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation & Development Council (YSRCDC). YSRCDC is contracting with South Fork Forest Solutions, Summit Land Management, and Willis Logging, Inc. This project provides a suite of benefits, including reducing hazardous fuels and implementing fuel breaks and defensible fuel profile zones, which will protect nearby communities at high risk of wildfire. In addition to the fire abatement, this will also create safer roads by reducing overgrowth and allowing visibility around corners, reducing shade on the roads in the winter, allowing for sunlight to melt ice, and creating safer escape routes in the event of evacuation from the areas.
Complementary to this project are the Cedar Valley Private Lands Project and the Sugar Pine Private Lands Project, which are currently active, and the Goat Mt. Fuel Break, which was completed in 2021. The strategic approach of treating on both private and public lands provides a holistic and contiguous treatment across the landscape to reduce hazardous fuel loading in high wildfire risk areas. It also provides firefighting personnel with strategic and advantageous points to attack a wildfire should an incident occur.
This mitigation will have piles left for USFS and CalFire to burn in the winter months when conditions are ideal.
The Madera County Roads Hazard Abatement Project is part of YSRCDC’s larger Madera Strategic Wildfire Mitigation Project (MSWMP). MSWMP funds the strategic implementation
of fuel breaks and defensible landscape projects in Eastern Madera County to protect up to 15,000 habitable structures, businesses, infrastructure, and community resources. Funding for this project was provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as part of the California Climate Investments Program.
MSWMP is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment —particularly in disadvantaged communities. The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero- emission vehicles, environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, recycling, and more. At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefit residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at: www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.
Yosemite Sequoia Resource Conservation & Development Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to natural resource conservation and economic development. The Council service area includes the rural and foothill communities of Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, and Tulare counties.
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