Tuesday, July 18, 2007

Fire prevention in Auburn's canyons has been neglected

By: Jim Ruffalo

Searching through the notebook while wondering what the Meddlers will do for an interlocutor when Rich Johnson gets drafted into government service in a few weeks? ...

And there's another huge draft that worries a lot of Auburn residents during what seems to be a never-ending fire season. Of course, that oblique reference is the sometimes ill winds that blow up from the American River canyon, breezes that easily could transport a wildfire right into the heart of Auburn.

A few years ago, newly arrived fire Chief Mark D'Ambrogi made fire protection in the canyon a top priority, then set about putting together a massive fuel reduction program. Shaded fuel breaks, dead-growth removal and fire access lanes were installed and even a non-expert can gaze down the canyon wall and see things are noticeably better.

However, one of those gazing downward was Auburn Mayor Bob Snyder, and the fact that he hadn't seen any work done there in quite awhile bothered him.

"We were told that CDF (now Cal Fire) would help maintain those efforts, but that hasn't happened lately," Snyder said.

Snyder is correct, but D'Ambrogi points out that there are reasons that state resources have been absent of late.

"One reason is that the federal Bird Migratory Act forbids work in that area from May to mid-July," the chief said.

Fine, but now that mid-July is upon us, does that mean the canyon will be brimming with state work crews?

"Not now," D'Ambrogi said, pointing out that those state crews usually are made up of firefighters, and right now they have their collective hands full fighting massive blazes throughout the state.

In fact, Cal Fire is so hard-pressed for resources, several strike teams of local government engines have been sent to those big blazes.

Auburn Engine 1284 spent five days working structure protection at the Tahoe Angora fire, and managed to get their countenances plastered on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, Auburn Engine 1271 just returned from a six-day stint battling the blazing wild lands of Santa Barbara's Zaca fire.

And even if this fire season does have an end, that probably won't mean that Auburn's canyons get help.

"I'll predict that with the Tahoe Basin fire getting so much publicity, and being where it was, all extra resources will be sent there, at least for this year," D'Ambrogi said, thus giving credence to the adage about help usually going to whomever's ox gets grilled.

"Basically," he said, "we're responsible for the private property, while the Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for public lands. And right now, all the (state and federal) governmental agencies have other things to do."

Still, all the news is not bad from the canyon.

"With all of the previous work done there. I'd say that the fuel load there has been cut at least in half," D'Ambrogi said, adding that his department recently secured a $90,000 grant to do some more preventive work on those hillsides.

"It's an on-going, never-ending project, and what has already been accomplished there doesn't mean the area is fireproof, but it does mean our firefighters have a chance to win there," the chief said. ...

More hot news: Speaking of those Tahoe Basin blazes, it should be pointed out that the county's Board of Supervisors is taking a good, long look at local regulations in regard to fire prevention.

That issue came out of a recent confab attended by supervisors Jim Holmes and Bruce Kranz, along with the CEO's top assistant (Rich Colwell), and Office of Emergency Services honcho Rui Cunha.

The obvious was discussed, such as remediation of the Tahoe area, along with what part was played by some rather foolish environmental policies placed on the area by federal, state and multi-jurisdictional agencies.

"But we also looked closer to home," Kranz said, adding that board staffers are preparing an ordinance allowing the county to move in and clean up overgrown areas should property owners fail to do so after proper notice.

Kranz compared the idea of mandatory wild lands cleanups with rules that cities and the county have regarding weed abatement.

"The proposal gives the landowner a chance to do the clearance, but if that fails, then the county will do it and bill the landowner," Kranz said.

Colwell then added that besides thoroughly reviewing the county's rules regarding fire safety, there will also be proposals beefing up regulations regarding defensible space, along with giving Fire Safety Councils a bigger regulatory role, especially in Districts 3 and 5.

"Basically, we'll be looking at what we can do as a county, review what's already in place that we can use and also look at what regulations are needed, and to do all of this without being onerous to private property rights," Colwell said.

Jim Ruffalo's column appears in the Journal Wednesdays and Sundays. His e-mail address is jmruffalo

@yahoo.com, or post a comment at auburnjournal.com.