AUBURN, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with California Conservation Corps and the Cool-Pilot Hill Fire Safe Council, began work on June 21 to reduce wildfire threats by creating a shaded fuel break between Auburn State Recreation Area and the Northside Elementary School in Cool, a small unincorporated community in El Dorado County. A shaded fuel break is created by cutting and trimming larger woody shrubs and smaller trees and chipping that material on site.
Reclamation’s ongoing partnership with the CCC Placer Center is dedicated to shaded fuel break work on federal lands adjacent to the urban interface where county development has occurred, and community Fire Safe Councils are recognized. Towns, neighborhood communities, and other infrastructure adjacent to the Auburn State Recreation Area are evaluated for fire prevention and protection, environmental conservation, land maintenance, and emergency response to natural disasters. This shaded fuel break project is managed and administered by Reclamation; project activities are performed by CCC crew members.
The goal of a shaded fuel break is to reduce the intensity of a potential wildfire moving through an area by decreasing the amount of vegetation that could burn. By thinning out the undergrowth, it helps keep the fire from moving quickly into the trees. Such shaded fuel breaks help slow fires from advancing and provides a safety zone where fire crews, engines, and aircraft can access and suppress a fire.
Current shaded fuel break work next to the Northside Elementary School will enhance fire prevention outreach for the Cool-Pilot Hill Fire Safe Council. Local businesses are discussing this project as “Cool Means Business" with visitors. Business owners are further explaining the importance of fire prevention and potential impacts or threats of wildland fire, while protecting natural and cultural resources and improving the safety for the residents of El Dorado County.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
