Photo by Mary Rawson
Our meeting on June 4th 2019 at Turtle Rock Park was attended by 28 members of the public and agencies. The meeting featured a presentation by the California Tahoe Conservancy on their Resilient Powerline Corridors project in the Tahoe Basin with Liberty Utilities, and an explanation by Liberty Utilities about their vegetation plan in Alpine County. The Resilient Powerline Corridors project is a collaboration between 16 federal, state, and local agencies, and Liberty Utilities. A robust discussion followed on fuels reduction to protect Markleeville, Markleevillage, and the Hot Springs Road corridor. It was agreed that the Hot Springs Corridor has the highest priority in the County. There was also some preliminary discussion on possible projects in the Woodfords area and Mesa Vista.
Scoping Study Update: Four qualified consultants responded to the request for proposals and a decision on which one to award the study to should be made prior to the next meeting.
Participant Updates: Mary Rawson reported there will be a star gazing party in August. Ron Hames requested ABC’s support to enforce a Red Flag Ordinance. He attended the Governor’s Emergency Seminar which emphasized personal responsibility and defensible space. Ron Hames reminded participants of the Community Wildfire and Evacuation Planning Town Hall Discussion, Friday, June 21st, at Turtle Rock Park, from 5pm – 8pm. Rich Adams, Sierra District Forester for California State Parks, introduced himself and reported he and Anna Belle Monti are sharing GIS data to determine fuels reduction priorities at Grover’s Hot Springs. The State Parks may have new opportunities to partner with CALfire. He is interested in the role of the Alpine Fire Save Council (AFSC) and its overlap with the ABC. Tom Tinsley expressed interest in continuing to attend ABC meetings. Coreen Francis encouraged the ABC to look at the Good Neighbor Authority Agreements and to consult www.grants.gov for potential partnerships. Kris Hartnett reported he is AFSC’s Firewise Community Representative. The AFSC is encouraging interested groups of homeowners (a maximum of 10 homes per “pod”) to contact them. This may have benefits for homeowner’s insurance. January Riddle reported she and Pat Schwartz attended a consortium sponsored by the East Topaz Fire Council on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) model. The Concerned Citizens group is interested in possibly starting a CERT team in Alpine County. Tim Roide reported the Alpine Fuels Mitigation Plan will kick off in August or September with 12 months of anticipated planning. The work, both maintenance and new, does include work on Poor Boy and Hot Springs Road. The Hot Shot Crew did some brushing work on Hot Springs Road for several days. Scott Kizziar reported a crew is going out next week on the Forest Service section of Hot Springs Road to do some maintenance work. Teresa McClung reported they have a list of candidates for the District Ranger position and are starting the evaluation process. Eliot Jones and Eric Oiler thanked the ABC and commented on the importance of partnerships between agencies and private land owners. David Griffith reported he attended a SCALE meeting. RCRC had a representative there as well as the Northern California Community Loan Fund. The ABC Board of Directors had a meeting. There were no changes in the board members. Tax returns and the California Registration for Charitable Trust paperwork have been filed. David Griffith reported he was inspired by the last ACCG meeting where the Forest Service modified projects on the fly based on input from environmental groups and agencies.
The next meeting is set for Tuesday July 2nd at 6:00 pm at Turtle Rock Park. It will be another planning meeting involving all the agencies that have past, present and future projects which improve forest or watershed health, and which reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Alpine County. It will begin to concentrate on the Woodfords area. Prior to the meeting it would be helpful if participants reviewed the Woodfords Planning Area section (beginning on page 25) of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan which can be downloaded from here. Members of the public that are concerned with the risk of catastrophic wildfire to their homes and communities are encouraged to participate.
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Alpine Biomass Collaborative 