Wildfire / Fuel Modification

Inland Empire District State Parks and the Wildland Urban Interface

California State Parks has developed a balanced process to address forest fuel management (including boundary fuel management) where appropriate and in accordance with its mission and environmental compliance and permitting requirements. Fuel modification is only undertaken when it is consistent with existing park plans, including General Plans and other management plans as required by Public Resources Section 5002.2. Forest management activities in State Parks fit squarely within the Department’s mandate to preserve the state’s most valued natural and cultural resources and preserve its outstanding biodiversity for future generations.

State Parks takes wildland fire preparedness very seriously, undertaking wildfire management planning, vegetation management and fuel modification; internal policies guide training, reporting and other fire related activities. Management actions for wildland fires on Department lands include: Pre-fire planning, fuel (vegetation) management, public safety measures, fire control support, post-fire evaluation and rehabilitation. As a general rule, State Parks does not create fuel breaks on its boundaries. However, State Parks has created guidelines for the protection of structures from wildland fire and to guide vegetation modification requested by neighboring landowners. It does, on a case-by-case basis, respond to homeowners to address defensible space needs, in some cases undertaking work that is aligned with Department resource and land management goals. State Parks also offers a right of entry permit to neighbors to allow access to State property to carry out defensible space modifications following appropriate environmental reviews and approvals.

State Parks is an active participant on the Governor’s Forest Management Task Force, which is coordinating statewide efforts for fire preparedness, wildland fire planning, and is working to speed implementation of fuel reduction and prescribed fire projects statewide.

What you can do as a State Parks Neighbor
Contact your local Fire Agency to obtain Home Hardening and Defensible Space guidelines for your property and ensure your property meets those guidelines. Determine your defensible space zone by measuring the distance from the closest exterior wall of your home to the property line. If this distance is 130 feet or greater, all of the defensible space can be created on your property. If this distance is less than 130, feet it may be desirable to create defensible space on neighboring property, possibly State Park property.

You may apply for a Boundary Vegetation Modification Right of Entry Permit (BVMROE)* to address your desired defensive space. An approved permit allows homeowners or their contractor access to State Park land to trim vegetation within 130 feet of the closest habitable structure. Homeowner groups are encouraged to apply jointly to maximize efficiency.
To learn more about obtaining a State Parks Boundary Vegetation Modification Right of Entry permit to complete defensible space for your home at an Inland Empire District managed park, please contact:
Enrique Arroyo, California State Parks Inland Empire District, (951) 453-6848

 

To download a fuel modication right of entry permit please click the following link:  Fuel Modification Permit Application