Yuba Roadside Fuel Treatment Project
Yuba Roadside Fuel Treatment Project
*In Yuba County alone, more than 30 roadside fires have been started by vehicles in the last 6 years.
*Reducing hazardous fuels along our roadsides is important to eliminating unwanted ignition sources that could quickly grow into a destructive wildfire.
*Create safe evacuation routes and access into areas for first responders in case of wildfire.
The Yuba Roadside Fuel Treatment Project will reduce fuels and fire risk along 555 miles of County, County Service Area (CSA), and private roads in the Yuba Foothills. The multi-year project will utilize heavy machinery and hand crews to create shaded fuel breaks within a 150-foot buffer on each side of County roads and a 30-foot buffer on each side of CSA and private roads.
Phase 1 Implementation
Phase 1 begins in the Dobbins-Oregon House area with grant funding from CAL FIRE and Yuba Water Agency.
Landowners within the treatment areas have been contacted to obtain access agreements. Required biological and cultural surveys in Spring 2023. Fuel reduction work will begin 2023-24
2024
Implementation of the roadside fuel reduction project begins with manual and mechanical treatment of vegetation fuels along egress routes in the Oregon House and Dobbins areas along Frenchtown Road from the intersection of Marysville Road, Road 270 at Marysville Road and Collins Lake.
As weather allows, project work is expected to begin March 18th, 2024 ramping up through spring, continuing into late fall November.
Treatment methods could include mastication, manual thinning and chipping, machine piling and grinding. As contractors begin this work, please be kind and watch for workers on equipment and on foot in our communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are receiving many great questions from the community regarding this project. Please see our FAQ page linked here and key FAQ’s highlighted below. For additional questions please reach out to our project team lead at yubahfr@masonbruce.com or 530-786-0650.
Q: What does this project involve?
A: The project will entail the removal of smaller, connected ladder fuels and flammable vegetation such as dense limbs, branches, and interconnected thickets of trees less than 12-inches diameter. The cutting and mulching or chipping of this material greatly reduces flammability and flame length in the event of a
wildfire and improves public safety along the thoroughfares. The cutting, mulching, and chipping will be completed with small to mid-size mechanical mastication tractors, chain saw cutting and pull-behind chippers, and in some cases a tracked chipper.
Following thinning treatments, there will be focused applications of herbicide on sprouting brush species to minimize resprouting and maintain project effectiveness only where landowners are favorable to that approach. Herbicides are not a requirement as part of this project.
Q: Why is herbicide application part of the project?
A: Following mechanical treatment, it is anticipated that brush and hardwoods will re-sprout. This resprouting will reduce the effectiveness of the treatment over time. The use of herbicides will control resprouting vegetation, and thus increase the effectiveness of the treatment over time. It is possible for
resprouting vegetation to be controlled through manual cutting, but this option carries a much higher cost and must be repeated annually, and for several years past the duration of the grant.
Q: Can I opt out of herbicide application, but participate in the rest of the project?
A: Yes! A landowner can choose to participate in the rest of the project and still opt out of herbicide use.
Yuba Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council encourages participating landowners who opt out of herbicide application to complete manual cutting of re-sprouting vegetation on portions of land that they own within the project in order to maintain project effectiveness.
Q: How can I request you don’t remove specific plants?
A: Email yubahfr@masonbruce.com to schedule a time to meet with a project forester on your property and to identify specific vegetation to be retained. If the requested vegetation retention is at a level that treatment would not be effective, your property may be excluded from treatment.
Q: How is this project any different than PG&E’s vegetation management work?
A: PG&E is mandated by the CPUC to maintain their utility easements. With this project, the landowner is not mandated to participate, but can benefit from the grant funding the Yuba Fire Safe Council (YWPFSC) secured from CAL FIRE and take action to reduce vegetation fuel loading on portions of their
property adjacent to the roadways. This project is subject to specific environmental requirements under the Cal VTP (see below) which are different that those mandated by the CPUC for utility work.
Q: What environmental protections will be in place to protect my property? 
A: This project is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Project compliance with
CEQA has been obtained through the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) developed by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The project was assessed and found to be within the scope of the CalVTP, verified by a Project Specific Analysis (PSA) prepared for county roadways. The CalVTP incorporates both standard protection requirements and mitigation measures designed to minimize effects to the environment. These include protections related to wildlife, rare plants, watercourses and water quality and soils. These documents can be viewed on the California Board of Forestry’s website at:
• California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
• Project-Specific Analysis and Addendum
• Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting
• Biological Resources
Q: I have more questions. Who can I talk to?
A: Please reach out to our project team lead at yubahfr@masonbruce.com or 530-786-0650.
Read more FAQ’s here
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Funding for this project provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Fire Prevention Program as part of the California Climate Investment Program. Funding for project management support funded by Yuba Water Agency
