Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com.
Dear Editor:
Fire season is upon us once again. Firewise councils throughout Mendocino County are working to mitigate the danger of wildfires by educating the public about home-hardening. This includes removing foliage from 5 feet around our houses, sealing eaves and other places embers can penetrate, siding homes with concrete paneling instead of wood, not having combustible fencing or buildings connected to our dwellings, and replacing combustible roofing with fire resistant types. All of this is great.
However, there is a public safety issue that is not being addressed: the stands of dead fir trees in the western hills above Ukiah. Everyone can see them. Many of our native trees have evolved to withstand wildfires, and living trees contain moisture and will slow the progress of a fire. However, should a fire erupt, these dead trees will dramatically increase the intensity of a fire and hinder efforts to contain it. With a strong wind, embers flying into urban areas will put many homes at risk.
This is a public safety issue. Addressing the removal of this dangerous fuel load will need a collaborative effort between state and local fire entities, Mendocino County and the City of Ukiah. Should a fire erupt and damage property, it is conceivable that there could be liability to both the property owners and/or public agencies for the failure to mitigate this danger. In the case of property owners who do not wish to allow Cal Fire or the fire authority access to their property, they should be made aware of possible liability that may be associated with the failure to reduce the fuel load by removing these dead trees.
The Western Hills Firewise Community is ready to work with all concerned to address this dangerous issue. We call upon our local and state agencies to create a plan to reduce this dangerous fuel load.
The Ukiah Western Hills Firewise Community
Ukiah
Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, Ukiah City Manager and City Council, Ukiah Valley Fire Authority, Mendocino County Cal Fire, and State Assemblymember Chris Rogers
taxpayers paid
$1500 an acre to clear logged over land on low gap rd that mrc paid $1000 acre for in the fisrt place
the writer of this article also fails to not the thousands of acres
of logged over dead fir forests that mrc makes even worse by poisoning the oaks and other shrubs
the answer is obviously to give them more free money to improve thier land without reassement on the taxpayers dime
MRC…Mendocino Ripoff Company.
Whose property/ properties are the trees on? Are these all fir trees presumably dead from heat/drought? Logging companies are actively creating dead stands across 1 million acres in Mendocino County alone. If the trees are on logging land then the companies should TCB and deal with them on their own dime. Since logging is considered agriculture and agriculture regulations allow spraying of unwanted trees I’d wager these aren’t all dead firs but could have been created by hack and squirt etc. Another thing to consider is that dead trees are excellent woodpecker and owl habitat. Woody and Woodsy need homes too. People are so eager to see so many things as an existential threat these days we need to settle down and take a more active approach to understanding fire safety and our encroachment on wildlands. These folks look out their windows and see threats to their lives where others see nature doing its thing. A letter like this just comes across as being crafted at Karen Inc. unless it’s accompanied by more facts.
This letter makes several assertions that are not well supported by evidence. It may seem like standing dead trees increase fire risk, but in fact the research aimed at quantifying how much risk they pose found, rather surprisingly, that major fires are not more likely nor more severe in stands containing dead timber. It turns out the weather is the overriding factor in wildfire.
People have been making these alarmist claims for some time, since beetles caused the deaths of millions of trees in California, but the patterns of fire over those years does not show a correlation with dead timber.
California is spending hundreds of millions on “fuel reduction” projects that are doing a great deal of ecological harm without demonstrably reducing fire risk.
The alarmist tone and implied threats in this letter seem intended to create fear. Let’s not let that cause a rush into possibly-misguided actions that may do more harm than good.
The fire safe counsel has an agenda & therefor is blind to.the damage they.do.