Fuel Reduction Project Underway to Protect RM Area
Jan 23, 2025 04:37PM ● By Gail Bullen River Valley Times Reporter
Registered forester Phyllis Banducci inspects the completed work at a fuel reduction unit adjacent to Greens Park on Jan. 21. She is supervising the wildfire protection work on 927 acres around Rancho Murieta, which is being funded by a $4.4-million CAL FIRE grant. Courtesy photo
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RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A fuel reduction project underway in and around Rancho Murieta couldn’t be more crucial.
“The work being done in Rancho Murieta and Deer Creek will help to protect the community from a north wind event like just happened in L.A.,” said Phyllis Banducci, the registered forester supervising the project. “The only difference is that our winds come across the mountains while the L.A. winds come across the desert, which makes them even more dry and dangerous than ours.”
A $4.4-million CAL FIRE grant is funding the Cosumnes Ladder Fuel Reduction Project. After the Rancho Murieta Fire Safe Council successfully applied for the grant in 2022, CAL FIRE awarded it to Sacramento Regional Parks, which is overseeing the project’s administration.
The goal’s primary goal was to reduce ladder fuels, which involves pruning lower tree branches, thinning smaller trees and removing ground fuels.
“The objective is to manage the oak stand so that, if a fire enters the area, it remains a ground fire,” Banducci explained.” Crown fires generate significantly more embers, which can travel into our community and create serious risks.”
A crown fire is a wildfire that spreads rapidly through the canopy or tops of trees.
During a Jan. 22 interview, Banducci said she expects the final contractor working within the gates to finish by Jan. 24. Meanwhile, a second contractor had already started operations in the Deer Creek Hills Preserve and a third had commenced heavy fuel reduction efforts on the Pilliken Ranch, situated across Scott Road from the preserve.
Banducci was uncertain whether the three contractors could continue working beyond the original hard stop date of Feb. 1, which aligns with the start of the nesting bird season. Otherwise, the crews won’t be able to resume work after the rains begin next fall. The grant stipulates that all work must be completed by March 2026.
A total of approximately 937 acres have been designated for fuel reduction. Of this, 363 acres (40%) are inside the gates, while 322 acres (33%) are on ranch lands west of Scott Road. Additionally, 252 acres (27%) of oak stands in Deer Creek Hills, east of Scott Road and along Latrobe Road, are scheduled for treatment.
Banducci said that work began in early November but was soon delayed due to heavy rains. The contractors initially focused on the area around the eagles’ nest, located southeast of Clementia Reservoir, to ensure that they completed the work before nesting season. After finishing that section in December, they continued moving south and west, completing the units east of the reservoirs and adjacent to Deer Creek Hills. The primary objective was to finish the work in Rancho Murieta before transitioning to other areas.
After surveying all the properties on foot in 2022 and 2023, Banducci divided them into 21 units, varying in size from three to 129 acres. She developed a specific treatment prescription for each unit to direct the contractors’ work and conducts daily site inspections to ensure the plans are followed.
The project utilizes three different types of fuel reduction treatments, according to Banducci. A light treatment focuses solely on ground fuel removal without any pruning or thinning of the trees. Ground fuel, she noted, includes dead branches and fallen trees that accumulate on the forest floor over time.
A medium treatment includes ground fuel and moderate trimming of trees less than 6 inches in diameter. However, this treatment is limited to specific areas, such as the 100-foot buffer zones adjacent to Latrobe and Scott roads and along property line boundaries.
A heavy treatment involves ground fuel treatment, tree thinning and pruning the lower tree branches up to 8 feet above the ground to eliminate ladder fuels. Heavy treatment units, such as the one encompassing the Parkway Loop Trail off Camino Del Lago, need large equipment, such as masticators, to get through the heavy fuel.
The goal is to tailor the treatment approach to suit the specific conditions of each unit, striking a balance between effective fuel reduction and environmental preservation. For example, in some units, Banducci might direct contractors sawing up a downed tree to leave the larger logs on the ground to maintain ecological benefits while addressing fire risk.
“The larger material doesn’t ignite as quickly as the fines,” Banducci said. “So the fines are what we are trying to treat because if an ember lands in that fine material, the chances of it taking off and creating a spot fire are much greater than if it landed on or near a larger piece of wood.”
On the other hand, when a unit is replete with dead fuel, such as the Parkway Loop. “They are actually grinding up pretty much everything,” she said.
The unit adjacent to Greens Park in the south required heavy treatment due to the extensive growth of blackberry bushes and the accumulation of dead fuels. It is also the unit closest to homes, which made it a high priority.
Banducci said the project provided “instant gratification,” noting the dramatic transformations achieved through the heavy fuel reduction efforts. Within a couple of days, the work had effectively doubled the park’s size, creating a more open and accessible space.
Some miles away at Deer Creek Hills, Banducci worked with the managers to prescribe a lighter treatment for the area because it is managed as a preserve. Contractors will lightly thin and prune trees and treat ground fuel within the 100-foot buffer zones but will focus on ground fuel removal in the remaining areas. Furthermore, they will leave behind a mosaic of wildlife habitats that biologists have designated.
Banducci became involved in the project in 2022. Having retired from CAL FIRE six years earlier, she initially intended to volunteer after hearing about the $4.4 million award. However, upon learning the project required a registered professional forester to prescribe treatments for the oak woodlands, Banducci established a sole proprietorship to take on the role. Despite her nearly 40 years of forestry experience, Banducci lacked the specific contracting background the county sought.
Banducci contacted FRST Corp, a forestry company based in Grass Valley, to see if the company would consider hiring her as a subcontractor.
“We put in the bid, and then we got the contract,” she said.
Banducci pointed out that this arrangement likely saved some grant money, as she only charges minimal mileage if she inspects outside the gates. Because Banducci lives in Rancho Murieta, her transportation has included her golf cart and she often brings her dog Sandy, whom she affectionately calls “my crew.” She doesn’t hesitate to walk the rest if the golf cart flounders.
The county requires Banducci to review and approve all contractor invoices before processing payment. To streamline this process, she has developed spreadsheets summarizing contractor hours, equipment usage and work completed daily. Tracking the data on her phone daily has expedited the process.
Banducci emphasized that the project wouldn’t have happened without the Rancho Murieta Regional Fire Safe Council. The council persistently applied for multiple grants and ultimately secured the $4.4 million CAL FIRE grant in 2022, much to their amazement.
Banducci noted that Rob Schultz, who wrote the grant application, brought invaluable institutional knowledge about the community to the project. Three other council members contributed to the application process: Greg Pryor, the board president, and council members Cheryl McElhaney and Kelly Hopkins. Hopkins also serves as the executive director of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, which manages Deer Creek Hills.
Pryor lauded former Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost, whose assistance was crucial to the project. Since the Fire Safe Council wasn’t a nonprofit organization, it needed a sponsor to apply for the CAL FIRE grant.
Frost facilitated the involvement of county parks and Veronica Thorley, a county parks staff member, is the project’s administrative manager.