Truckee, Calif. September 25, 2019 – The U.S. Forest Service and Truckee Fire are currently planning a combined 1100 acre fuel break known as the Glenshire Brockway Fuel Break Project. The purpose of this project is to decrease the risk of a wildfire spreading from adjacent wildlands to the community of Glenshire, to allow for rapid suppression, and to create openings that allow aircraft to drop retardant more effectively.
The project will be located east of the Truckee airport; from Glenshire Drive south to Brockway Summit. Six large landowners are participating in project design and implementation including Truckee Tahoe Airport District, Truckee Donner Land Trust, United States Forest Service, Vail Corporation, Teichert Aggregates and Sierra Pacific Industries.
By reducing hazardous fuels, fuel breaks and fuel reduction projects can reduce the risk of high-intensity, fast-moving wildfires. In the project area, stands of mixed conifer which contain dead and dying white fir alongside thriving Jeffrey pine, combined with an understory of snow brush (Ceanothus), are proposed for fuel reduction treatments. These treatments may include mechanical thinning, mastication and conventional tree removal. Grapple piling and pile burning are also proposed. Biomass from the project may be hauled to the Loyalton biomass facility. The proposed treatments may create an aesthetic change to the project area due to the reduction in visible trees and vegetation.
This project is being funded through Cal Fire’s California Climate Investment grant obtained by the National Forest Foundation. If approved, project work may occur as quickly as early winter 2019 with most work occurring in summer and fall of 2020 and 2021.
The US Forest Service and Truckee Fire are conducting separate environmental analysis processes to satisfy State and Federal requirements. For more details on the project and to provide comment to the U.S Forest Service, please visit https://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/nepa_project_exp.php?project=55761. For more details on the project and to provide comment to the Truckee Fire please call Jeff Dowling at 590-582-7850.