Brooktrails finds a path to treat hazardous vegetation on private parcels

This article was written by Sarah Reith on behalf of the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. The Mendocino Voice retains editorial oversight.

MENDOCINO CO., 1/21/26 — The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council played a pivotal role in ensuring fuel reduction work was completed on undeveloped parcels in Brooktrails, an unincorporated township north of Willits that encompasses 12.6 square miles. Shortly before the holidays, the hills above the fire station echoed with the sound of chainsaws as the California Conservation Corps thinned fuels in an effort to head off another disastrous wildfire season. The work was paid for by grants and accomplished through a multi-agency collaboration.

There are about 4,400 undeveloped parcels in the township. Many are privately owned by people who live elsewhere and do not maintain them. Regardless of ownership, unmaintained parcels pose a threat to the entire neighborhood when vegetation becomes overgrown, dries out and turns into kindling for the next wildfire.

Bobbie Delgado, program coordinator for the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, reflected on what it took to get the Corps to spend weeks cleaning up the neighborhood.

Originally, she said, the Coastal Conservancy “provided funding to support us clearing undeveloped land in Brooktrails, specifically land adjacent to homes. We wanted to address the 100-foot defensible space that landowners weren’t able to achieve because they were surrounded by undeveloped land.” Owners of adjacent parcels received letters seeking permission to work on their properties.

It could not have been more simple. But as the years went by, Delgado said, landowners did not respond to the letters. That may have been because mailing addresses were outdated or because owners did not even know they had inherited property they had never seen. Delgado noted that “this has been going on for about 30 to 40 years.”

Brooktrails has a nuisance vegetation ordinance that allows it to abate vegetation on private property and eventually recoup costs by placing a lien on the land. But the likelihood of reimbursement from absentee owners who do not respond to notices is not worth the labor costs.

A new solution to gain access to unmaintained land

To carry out the Coastal Conservancy grant-funded work, the Brooktrails Township Community Services District worked with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council to develop a new process. The district sent abatement notices to property owners stating that if they did not complete the work themselves within 30 days, the Fire Safe Council would be authorized to access the property to abate fuel hazards.

That letter prompted some absentee owners to manage their properties by hiring crews to clear vegetation. “If they don’t take any action and they don’t respond, then we have the right to work on their property,” Delgado said. As grant funds or other resources become available, the process will allow nuisance vegetation to be addressed.

Last August, groups including the district, the county, Cal Fire, local firefighting agencies — including the Ukiah Valley Fire District fuels reduction crew — and the Fire Safe Council met to strategize. It was decided the fire chief would first identify the highest-priority areas for abatement. Property owners in those areas would then receive letters seeking permission to complete the work. If no response was received within 30 days, crews would be allowed to access the properties.

Another opportunity soon arose through a partnership between the Fire Safe Council and the Conservation Corps, allowing the council to design projects using corps labor and council resources such as its chipper. While much work remains, resources permitting, the fire chief has prioritized five locations. About 20 acres are expected to be treated for roadside clearance and defensible space around homes.

Delgado said she is optimistic about continued collaboration. She recently visited the worksite, where Conservation Corps crew supervisor Cedar Long was guiding young adults through the safe and deliberate process of cutting small trees. Long has previously collaborated with the Fire Safe Council, including leading a women’s chainsaw workshop in Laytonville. A former firefighter in Mendocino and Humboldt counties, Long is committed to forest health and fire safety.

In addition to providing labor for communities such as Brooktrails, the Conservation Corps is also a youth development program. “We do a lot of skills instruction, trainings and certifications that help our Corps members after CCC,” Long said.

The 14-person crew was working toward certification to fell trees using chainsaws, after which they would be trained to use a chipper. “They’re working their tails off to get all the woody debris to the chipper, and the chips will be distributed back onto the forest floor to biodegrade,” Long said.

Many Corps members are interested in firefighting careers, she added. “Learning about fuel loading and how to improve safe ingress and egress is a huge part of their learning process. It makes them more knowledgeable and safer when they’re out on the line.”

To learn more about improving fire safety and resiliency, visit firesafemendocino.org.