May 7th kicked off the 2014 season with an emphasis on lessons learned from the tragic loss of 19 firefighters during the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona last year. “Why did they leave the black?…” was the unanswered, thought-provoking question that everyone who took the class walked away with. The “black” refers to an area which has already burned, and can provide a safety zone during a wildfire because its fuel has already been consumed. Flaming front visible from Hwy 89, Yarnell Hill Fire, 2013The National Park Service S.F. Bay Area Network Fire Program consists of a 12-person hand crew, a 5-person engine crew, leadership, and support staff who will be tasked with a series of fuel reduction projects, while also being ready to respond to wildfires. These resources are augmented with other local crews from Marin County Fire Department and Conservation Corps North Bay who complete park projects through cooperative agreements. Park maintenance divisions also play an important role in reducing fire hazards. Preliminary 2014 fuels management project list:
- Bayview / Limantour Bishop Pine Thinning
- Estero Prescribed Fire
- Highway One Prescribed Fire
- Bolinas Ridge Fuel Break
- Tamalpais Valley Eucalyptus Thinning
- Marinview Fuel Reduction
- Fort Barry Eucalyptus Thinning
- Coral Reef Eucalyptus Thinning
- Mount Wanda Fire Access Mowing
- Mount Wanda Perimeter Defensible Space
- Park Facilities Defensible Space
- Bear Valley Roadside Fuel Reduction
Fire-related maintenance projects
- Golden Gate NRA – Boundary Mowing, Rancho Corral de Tierra
- Point Reyes National Seashore – Roadside Mowing, Limantour
