Greater Willow Creek Wildfire Resilience Project
Humboldt County Resource Conservation District and partners were awarded funding under the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant to implement a suite of area-wide outreach, education, and implementation actions as well as the implementation of 9 priority fuels reduction projects in and around the communities Willow Creek, Salyer, and Hawkins Bar to improve the resiliency of the region to catastrophic wildfire. This community-based project was driven by the leadership and vision of local and regional project partners, including the Willow Creek Fire Safe Council, Lower Trinity River Prescribed Burn Association, Trinity County Resource Conservation District, Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Willow Creek Community Services District, and the Watershed Research and Training Center. This project will also complement hazardous fuels reduction projects planned on Six Rivers National Forest as part of the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy to mitigate wildfire risk to communities in high-risk “Firesheds.” To keep up-to-date join the Greater Willow Creek Community Wildfire Defense Grant Facebook Group or to learn more about this program, contact foresthealth@hcrcd.org for additional information.
Interest Forms
Landowner
If you are located in the areas of Willow Creek, Salyer, or Hawkins Bar and are interested in the Community Wildfire Resilience Project for the Greater Willow Creek Area, please fill out this form to learn more about how this project could potentially benefit you as a landowner.
Subcontractor
If you are a contractor interested in working on the Greater Willow Creek Wildfire Resilience Project please fill out this form describing how you may be able to assist with the implementation of this work. You or your company will be added to the list of contractors interested in this project and will be sent requests for qualifications, requests for proposals, or other solicitation notices associated with this project.
Individual
If you are an individual interested in working with the Greater Willow Creek Wildfire Resilience Project please fill out this form below to inform us of how you may be able to assist with the implementation of this work. You will be added to the list of individuals seeking employment under a subcontractor for this project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the project?
A: This is a proposed 500+ acre project that will combine hazardous fuels reduction and defensible space assistance; creation or maintenance of shaded fuel breaks; and the restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems on privately owned lands. This project has been structured to build the capacity of local organizations, via local coordinators, who will work with landowners to facilitate work on the ground. This project is open to all landowners in the Greater Willow Creek Area. This is an opportunity to address strategic wildfire prevention needs at no cost to the landowner.
Q: Where is the project taking place?
A: The proposed project activities will take place in and around the communities of Willow Creek in Humboldt County and Salyer and Hawkins Bar in Trinity County, collectively known as the Greater Willow Creek area and often considered a distinct region for fire prevention and prescribed fire planning.
Q: Who is facilitating this project?
A: Humboldt County Resource Conservation District (HCRCD) will serve as project lead for all proposal activities and coordinate the following partners in bringing this project to fruition and building internal community capacity for long-term stewardship: Willow Creek Fire Safe Council (WCFSC), Lower Trinity River Prescribed Burn Association (LTRPBA), Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department (WCVFD), Willow Creek Community Services District (WCCSD), Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD), and the Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC).
Q: What is defensible space?
A: Defensible space is the buffer between your home/structure and the surrounding area. Adequate defensible space acts as a barrier to slow or halt the progress of fire that would otherwise engulf your property. It also helps ensure the safety of firefighters defending your home. Defensible space is the first line of defense for your home against wildfire.
Q:What is a shaded fuel break?
A: A shaded fuel break is a method of modifying and removing under story fuels (brush, small living trees, limbs, downed branches, etc.) while keeping a canopy of larger trees that provide shade to discourage the regrowth of vegetation. Typically, shaded fuel breaks are focused alongside existing roads or ridge lines to provide a strategic opportunity for firefighters to engage and suppress wildland fires. Shaded fuel breaks also help to slow the spread of roadside ignitions into the surrounding wildlands.
Q: What is home hardening?
A: Home hardening addresses the most vulnerable components of your house with building materials and installation techniques that increase resistance to heat, flames, and embers that accompany most wildfires.
Q: Who would qualify to participate in this project?
A: Consenting owners of parcels that fall within the designated project area would qualify. These landowners would have the opportunity to work with the project team to help guide if, when, and how work would be done. Although every fire is different, having a large-scale landscape-level fuel break on a strategic ridgeline would provide an opportunity to stop or significantly slow the advancement of a major wildfire.
Q: If I choose to participate, does that guarantee the work will be done?
A: We will try to involve as many interested landowners as possible, however interest in the project, unfortunately, does not guarantee the work will be able to be done.
Q: Who will be responsible for paying for the project?
A: Work completed under this grant is funded by USDA, Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Fire and Aviation Management. There is no cost to landowners. Home hardening assessments are free to the landowner, however construction materials and installation are not covered under the grant.
Q: How can I get involved in supporting this project?
A: One way to get involved is by engaging with our project team. We currently have local coordinators who are working to collect information and build support for this project. This project is ambitious, and a project of this breadth and magnitude has not been undertaken. Partnering with, and working alongside the community has been, and will be vital to the project’s success.
Q: How can I find out more?
Humboldt County Resource Conservation District: katrina@hcrcd.org, (707) 496-4849
Lower Trinity River Prescribed Burn Association: lowertrinitypba@gmail.com, (415) 205-9125
Willow Creek Fire Safe Council: coordinator@wcfiresafe.org
Trinity County Resource Conservation District: bllewellyn@tcrcd.net