SNF tree mortality project yields lots of free firewood

There will be plenty of firewood available this summer for Tulare County residents to come and pick up as the United States Forest Service and Tulare County Fire Department continue to work together to reduce the threat of hazard tress in the Parker Pass area along M50 between California Hot Springs and Ponderosa.

Nearly a century of fire exclusion, highly overstocked stands of trees, multiple years of drought, and bark beetle activity have all combined to cause nearly 30 million trees in Tulare County to die and become falling and fire hazards. Dead trees like these directly contributed to the spread of the Cedar Fire in 2016 and the Pier Fire in 2017.

“The Forest Service and Tulare County Fire Department have developed a great working relationship. We recognize that we are all in this together,” stated Eric La Price, District Ranger for the Western Divide Ranger District. “We also need the help of the public. To mitigate the fire hazard, we need the wood removed from the roadsides. That wood is available to the public under our Free Personal Use firewood permits.”

Multiple crews from Tulare County Fire Department and Sequoia National Forest have been working on this project together since late April. To date, the crews have felled over 2,700 trees on a 4 mile stretch along Parker Pass Road.

The first phase of the project is to reduce the hazards from trees that could potentially impact Tulare County road easements, as well as the forest roads and anyone travelling on those roads.

In addition to mitigating the hazard to forest visitors posed by the hazard trees, this work will also help secure key evacuation routes for those who may need to escape from a fast-moving wildland fire.

The Sequoia National Forest/giant Sequoia National Monument Free “Personal Use” Firewood Permits are valid through November 30, 2018. The permit is valid for gathering conifer softwood, hardwood or a combination regardless

of species shown on the permit.

Please keep the following in mind while gathering firewood:

Permit does not authorize access to roads that are closed due to weather or risk of resource damage.

Cutting and loading firewood is permitted only during daylight hours.

Firewood material must be dead (without green leaves or needles).

Please visit your local Sequoia National Forest Ranger Station for a full list of permit conditions and to obtain a permit.

For further information regarding this project, please contact the US Forest Service – Sequoia National Forest Public Information Officer at 559-784-1500 or the Tulare County Fire Department Public Information Officer at 559-624-0628.