The Wildfire Preparedness Program in the Ross Valley Fire department employs many methods of mitigating, slowing and preparing for wildfires with a dedication to the preservation of life and property.

One approach that the Ross Valley Fire Department employs to managing wildland fires is to use fuel breaks in strategic locations, such as along ridge lines or around communities. The concept behind fuel breaks is to provide a defensible location for use by firefighting crews, or to reduce the fire intensity in the Wildland Urban Interface. The Wildfire Mitigation Program is identifying potential fuel breaks across the Ross Valley and will be working towards this goal of reducing fire intensity.

For more information regarding the Greater Ross Valley Shaded Fuel Break click here.

The program also focuses on Evacuation Route clearance to provide safe evacuation routes for residents as well as accessible roads for fire engines.

While it is the responsibility of the homeowner to clear 10 feet off the road and clear 15 feet vertically the department understands that initial treatment like this can be costly. The Wildfire Preparedness program will assist residents by providing a one time clearing of the roadway vegetation, taking the initial cleanup cost off the residents.

This clearance project consists of trimming tree branches over roadways, limbing up tree branches off of the ground, removing ladder fuels and encroaching vegetation from roadsides and sidewalks and the clearing of vegetation around fire hydrants. The benefit for this clearing is to allow for a safe and efficient response by emergency personnel. Prior to the clearing, a letter is mailed to all homes in the area describing the scope of work in order to allow time to comment and contact us directly.

For more information on any of our programs please email us at vegetationmanagement@rossvalleyfire.org