FORESTRY WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
T
he initial phase of the property owner defensible space program (2008 - 11) is nearing completion. There are a few properties not in compliance, which we are working with, but the majority of the 5,498 properties have been certified compliant. The membership should celebrate and take great pride in the fact that Tahoe Donner has joined a short list of communities in the state of California that have an effective defensible space program and all properties have fulfilled the requirements of Public Resources Code 4291. The Forestry department would like to personally thank each property owner for their understanding, participation and efforts to help make Tahoe Donner fire safe. As property owners have completed their defensible space work, the Forestry department has been working on increasing fire safety in the adjoining common areas. Not only did the defensible space program look at fire safety but also forest health. When a member of the forestry staff visits a property for defensible space, they take note of any hazardous trees or trees that are either diseased or under attack from bark beetles and provide the owner with information and the route to proceed with the given situation.
So where do we go from here? We cannot allow the material to accumulate and the forest to grow, pushing the development away from being fire safe. The Forestry department has just finished developing an eight-year, rotating program to help maintain the great work completed under the four-year program. Under the new program, the Forestry department will be inspecting 750 properties a year focusing on the 30 feet around the structure while looking at the entire property. If you want to know ahead of time when your property will be inspected again, please contact the Forestry department.
Also, in December of 2010 Tahoe Donner became the first community in the Truckee area to be recognized as a Firewise Communities/USA. The requirements for this recognition include maintaining a Firewise Board, investing at least $2/capita in Firewise projects, maintaining a Firewise plan and holding a Firewise day. Firewise Communities is a program of the national fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA is an international non-profit organization seeking to reduce loss of life and property from fire. They provide education, codes and standards, training and research advocating fire prevention.
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