RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - With only a few months remaining before the CAL FIRE grant expires, the final phase of a wildfire fuel reduction project to protect Rancho Murieta resumed Sept. 29.

Registered forester Phyllis Banducci, who is supervising the on-the-ground work, provided the update during the Rancho Murieta Fire Safe Council’s online meeting Sept. 22.

Although most of the 927-acre project was finished in February, two contractors will begin the final phase: 157 acres on the Pilliken Ranch, located on the west side of Scott Road just north of Latrobe Road. Follow-up work to treat oak tree stumps that have sprouted will also be carried out.

“You guys might be asking, ‘What are you doing starting so early? It hasn’t rained and it is really dry,” Banducci told the Fire Safe Council.

The two contracting firms will begin by using only saws to prune and thin trees, creating piles. Masticators won’t be brought in until after it rains or temperatures cool and the fuel moisture content increases.

Banducci said that she “feels very good” about the contractors meeting all state requirements for fire suppression tools and noted they will check their job sites at the end of each day.

“My concern is that if we don’t start now, we won’t finish,” Banducci said. “I’m really excited about getting it going, although it is a bit of a risk.”

That’s because the CAL FIRE grant providing $4.4 million for the project has a hard end date of March 31.

“We have 157 acres left (on the Pilliken Ranch) that require the heaviest treatment,” Banducci said. “If we are lucky, they are going to complete two acres a day… So we have four months to finish before Feb. 1.”

While the work could technically be extended into February, that would require paying for a bird-nesting survey.

“I want to save every penny we can to go on the ground,” Banducci said. “I don’t want to waste any more money on bird surveys.”

Banducci said the work will also include treating tree stumps on 360 acres where oaks were cut last fall. Workers will apply herbicide to stumps that are resprouting.  The treatment areas will be inside Rancho Murieta, Scott Ranch, and Deer Creek Hills.

"This follow-up treatment is critical to prevent regrowth of ladder fuels," she explained.

During the herbicide application, trails and other public areas will be closed for two to three days, with notices posted two weeks in advance. "I don't want to get the notices out too early because I want people to use the trails as long as they can," she said.

Banducci said she asked Virginia Thorley, Sacramento County Regional Parks grant administrator, about the chances of getting an extension from CAL FIRE.

“She said that CAL FIRE made it absolutely clear that everything needs to be done by March 31 and that includes invoicing,” Banducci said. “March is going to be very busy for all of us.”

Fire Safe Council President Greg Pryor asked about tree planting at Deer Creek Hills Preserve.

“As far as I know, they have planted 100 trees and have got the water system in,” Banducci said. “But they were going back and putting in cages because there is a real issue with gophers or moles, whatever it was that was eating the trees.”

Pryor thanked Banducci for her report.

“You’ve done great and you put a lot into the community, which is wonderful,” Pryor said.

Background

A $4.4-million CAL FIRE grant is funding the 927-acre Cosumnes Ladder Fuel Reduction Project. The Fire Safe Council applied for the grant in 2022, and Cal Fire awarded it to Sacramento Regional Parks, which is overseeing project administration.

The grant’s primary goal is to reduce ladder fuels by 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 in an interview last January. “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.

A total of approximately 937 acres were designated for fuel reduction. Of this, 363 acres (40%) were inside the gates, while 322 acres (33%) were 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, were part of the project.

After surveying all the properties on foot in 2022 and 2023, Banducci divided them into 21 units ranging in size from three to 129 acres.

She developed a specific treatment prescription for each unit to guide the contractors’ work and conducted daily site inspections to ensure the plans were followed. Her goal was to tailor each approach to the site’s specific conditions, striking a balance between effective fuel reduction and environmental preservation.

Banducci also said in January that the project would not have been possible without the Fire Safe Council. The council persistently applied for multiple grants and, to their amazement, ultimately secured the $4.4 million CAL FIRE grant in 2022.

Banducci noted that Rob Schultz, who wrote the grant application, and council members Greg Pryor, Cheryl McElhaney and Kelly Hopkins all played key roles in securing the funding. Hopkins also serves as executive director of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, which manages Deer Creek Hills.

Assistance from former Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost was also crucial to the project. Because the Fire Safe Council was not a nonprofit, it needed a sponsor to apply for the CAL FIRE grant. Frost facilitated the involvement of Sacramento County Regional Parks, where staff member Veronica Thorley now serves as the project’s administrative manager.