Pier Fire: Officials looking at removing burned trees

Seeking comments from the public

The Pier Fire burned nearly 37,000 acres last summer, most of it on the Western Divide Ranger District in Giant Sequoia National Monument, Sequoia National Forest. An effort is proposed to remove the burned trees along a 35-mile stretch of roadway to mitigate the hazards.

“These dead and dying trees are a substantial threat to public safety,” stated District Ranger Eric Laprice.

The proposed project area is along Highway 190 between the turnoff to Camp Wishon and Camp Nelson, the road between Camp Wishon and Sequoia Crest, and some Forest Service roads surrounding Sequoia Crest, said Denise Alonzo, public affairs officer for Sequoia National Forest.

In addition to mitigating hazards, the Pier Fire Roadside Hazard Tree Mitigation Project will perform restoration work in the fire area to reestablish and improve wildlife habitat, and create a more resilient ecosystem.

“It is important to address these hazards now while the trees are structurally sound enough to fall them safely,” Laprice shared. “We’ll need to remove many of the felled trees from the landscape rather than leave heavy debris covering the ground presenting a fire hazard, plugging culverts, and rolling onto the roads.”

Felled trees would be removed from the landscape using a variety of tools including timber sales, chipping, prescribed burning, and personal use firewood collection.

Forest officials have initiated a scoping comment period for the project, and are seeking comments related to this proposal.

Alonzo added the nature of feedback received during the comment period will directly affect the timeline of the project, as it may require a more exhaustive environmental report on the impact of the project, but if all goes well work could begin sometime this summer.

The public is encouraged to direct its comments on the project to the Western Divide Ranger District, attn. Eric Laprice, 32588 HWY 190, Springville CA 93265 or by email to elaprice@fs.fed.us. Deadline to submit comments is April 1.

RECORDER PHOTO BY CHIEKO HARA Highway 190 north of Springville was closed due to Pier Fire for nearly a month. The fire burned over 36,000 acres and led to the evacuations of thousands.