Making Oregon House More Fire-Safe

We are in a high fire-risk area, and there is lots to be done to make ourselves safer. We are working on a number of fronts, and most of them take time. One thing we can do in the very short term, is to clear the understory on a five acre+ patch on the Richard's Ranch just south of Regent Way/Winding Way. It won't solve all of our issues, but will do three key things:

--Provide a break to slow down an approaching fire, while giving firefighters a base to work from, and

--Keep the cleared area free from FUTURE underbrush, by seeding and running cattle on it, and

--Take a real step forward as a community, making subsequent steps more possible

Richards Ranch will donate its heavy equipment (D6 and excavator) and some staff time to operate it. The $4,000 will pay for fuel and maintenance; if we raise more, we will clear more. (We are also looking for volunteer equipment operators, so we can get more done!).

Brad Roman and Gabe Pannell are driving this project along with Tom Richards and myself, and other folks (TQW, Julian Branston and Tony O'Farreli) working on associated projects, especially widening Rice's Crossing Rd at key pinch points and creating alternate egress routes in the event of a fire.

Yuba County fire officials, our County Supervisor and Community Development staff are all supportive of this project.