The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a plan to expedite fuel reduction treatments and fire protection efforts on 900,000 acres in California and southwest Nevada over the next 10 years.
“Wildfires have had catastrophic effects on communities and surrounding public land resources,” said BLM California State Director Karen Mouritsen. “This initiative is designed to reduce the intensity, severity and spread of wildfire in and around communities, supporting community infrastructure and surrounding lands by reducing hazardous fuels.”
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), 8,619 wildfires burned 2,569,009 acres in 2021, which followed a record-breaking wildfire season in 2020, scorching 4,177,856 acres in the state.
In September, an arborist working for Pacific Gas and Electric said a tree infected with a fungal disease fell on an electric transmission line, causing the Dixie Fire. The Dixie Fire was the state’s second-largest wildfire, burning more than 960,000 acres in 2021 and destroying 1,300 structures, including the town of Greenville.
According to a press release from the BLM, the projects will be on lands identified as high risk and within a 1-mile wildland-urban interface (WUI) buffer zone. BLM will also be completing work on BLM lands, such as emergency access routes, utility corridors and “critical WUI values at risk.”
Fuel reduction methods for the project include mechanical methods, manual treatment using power tools, herbicides, prescribed burning and targeted grazing.
BLM stated in 2021, the agency funded 55 fuel projects and 62 community assistance activities, covering nearly 26,000 acres across the state to reduce hazardous fuels and protect communities and critical infrastructure.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has called for a proactive approach to wildfire prevention and control in the state. In January, Newsom proposed an increase of $1 billion to fund CAL FIRE’s forest health and fire prevention programs for the next five years. In April, Newsom signed a $536 million wildfire resiliency bill.
Newsom had previously criticized the federal government’s response to wildfires on federal land by allowing them to grow rather than extinguishing them, citing the Tamarack Fire, which smoldered for several days until winds whipped the fire to burn over 68,000 acres in 2021.
“The Newsom administration applauds the (BLM’s) proposal to expedite fuel removal in federally-managed forests in California. We thank the Biden administration for their collaboration to address catastrophic wildfires, improve the health of our forests and combat climate change,” a spokesperson from Newsom’s office told The Center Square.
“At the state level, California is building on successful fuels management strategies, including a historic $1.5 billion investment in wildfire and forest resilience.”
BLM accepted comments on the proposal until the end of December. More information on the proposal can be found at eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2016583/510. —Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
