Originally Published in The Mountain Messenger

CALPINE–There were a lot of trees in this town, making summer afternoons pleasant, but causing considerable uneasiness toward the fire season. There are still a lot of trees in Calpine, but residents are comfortable that they’ve got a fighting chance to survive a local wildfire, as the above before and after pictures illustrate.

In a remarkable (we’re in Sierra County after all) display of cooperation, several landowners got together with the Sierra County Firesafe Council to treat over 84 acres, removing flammable brush, overcrowded saplings and “fire ladders,” those low hanging branches that allow a ground fire to climb to the crowns. By reducing the crown cover to 40% coverage, fire experts say a crown fire is exceeding unlikely: the fire will drop to the ground, where reduced fuels make firefighting possible.

Those who claim to know give Firesafe Council Treasurer Mike Freschi a lot of the credit for putting the grant money to work. Freschi insists Forester Danielle Banchio and Operator Paul Roen are the responsible and laudable parties. Banchio worked with Freschi and landowners in preparing the operation, and all involved agree Roen did a magnificent job of removing and masticating the fuel.

In 2006, former Firesafe Council Director John McDonald wrote the grant proposal that funded the operation. The U.S.D.A. Forest Service funded the plan with $110,000, which required a $7,200 local match, through the California Firesafe Council, a non-profit agency. The grant foresaw the treatment of 70 acres.

Initially, it appeared only 47 acres would be involved, but landowner enthusiasm increased through the summer. Because so many neighbors pitched in, the Council was able to treat the 84 acres with the grant funding. The job was finished on November 20, relieving all involved as the funding was set to expire on November 31.

The local Firesafe Council has received a $127,000 grant to work in the Alleghany townsite. That work is expected to begin shortly, with work on the ground starting as soon as Spring weather allows.