While I take exception to some points in Melinda Burns’s recent article on “fuel breaks ”, she deserves credit for trying to unravel a complicated subject in which simplistic thinking and uninformed opinion are not particularly helpful. As a former chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, a longtime mountain resident, and before that, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter for 10 years, I believe that fire protection and environmental protection can be balanced in a way that works for everyone who loves our mountains and foothills, including those of us who actually live here.
No responsible person today denies that intelligent wildfire protection involves both vegetation management and “hardening” of homes to improve their survivability. Even groups like the Chaparral Institute and Los Padres ForestWatch acknowledge this on their websites, although not always in other public statements. Of course it is fair to ask how much vegetation needs to be removed, and what can be done to minimize habitat impacts from fuel-reduction projects. The Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) that the San Marcos Pass mountain and foothill communities have been working on for two and a half years addresses these issues, and also structure hardening, in great detail. The CWPP is a joint effort of County Fire and Forest Service vegetation management experts, experienced firefighters, mountain and foothill citizen representatives, environmental representatives, and a highly recognized consulting firm that has previously prepared CWPPs for Goleta, Montecito, and the Santa Monica Mountains.
Our CWPP does not propose any major new fuel breaks. What the CWPP recommends is maintaining, and in a few cases expanding, existing narrow bands of fuel reduction around our major communities, i.e., the San Marcos foothill tracts, Trout Club, and Painted Cave. The CWPP also identifies a few potential locations for tactical breaks that could help hold fires along area roadways. Lastly, the CWPP recommends clearing narrow strips along roadways to improve escape routes and access for firefighters. Having driven down a road surrounded by flames during my hotshot days, I can tell you it is not something I want my wife to experience when evacuating our pet rabbits from Painted Cave.