Wildfire Preparedness Activities
California State Parks and the Friends of China Camp are committed to working together with local fire agencies and other partners to regularly conduct the following ongoing fire prevention activities at China Camp State Park:
- Defensible space maintenance is routinely conducted by the Friends of China Camp around park facilities and high use areas to protect this infrastructure
- Roadside vegetation maintenance regularly occurs to provide access for emergency responders along system roads, and on maintenance of public roads within the park.
- Fire rings and BBQs in campgrounds and day use areas are regularly maintained by the Friends of China Camp, with nearby vegetation managed to limit receptive fuels in these areas
- Vegetation clearance around electrical infrastructure and associated maintenance work is conducted by Pacific Gas & Electric and its contractors in close coordination with California State Parks
- Neighboring Properties can work with State Parks to obtain a right of entry permit to conduct defensible space work on California State Parks land when their structures are within 130 feet of the park boundary. For more information contact: BayAreaNaturalResources@parks.ca.gov
Wildland Vegetation Stewardship Work
California State Parks has a long history of conducting vegetation stewardship work at China Camp State Park, including work that is focused on enhancing the resilience of the park’s vegetation communities to fires. This work includes the following:
Invasive Species Management to protect biodiversity and reduce fire severity.
- Removal of eucalyptus, acacia, broom and other invasive plant species that outcompete and replace native plant communities and can increase fuel loading and fire behavior
Targeted Fuel Reduction work occurs in specific wildland areas when conditions warrant. This work may support preservation of sensetive habitats and plant communities, the management of invasive plant species and the preservation of historic or culturally significant landscapes. This work includes:
- Vegetation management efforts focused between North San Pedro Road and Shoreline Trail, including around the Back Ranch Meadows Campground
- Vegetation management work on the slopes around the park's historic fishing village
- Vegetation management work in areas near the park boundary accessed from Knight and McNears Drives, which is completed/maintained by the San Rafael Fire Department.
- Expanded access road clearance completed by the Marin County Fire Department in coordination with State Parks and the San Rafael Fire Department.
Prescribed Burning is a tool used that is used in support of the efforts mentioned above.
- Prescribed burns have taken place in many of the grasslands and meadows along North San Pedro Road intermittingly over the past 30 years
- Prescribed burns occurred in Fall of 2023 to support stewardship of oak woodlands and grasslands along the McNears Fire Road
- Pile burning has taken place in multiple areas of the park, with over 2,400 piles burned between 2024-2026 in support of broadcast burn preparation and fuel reduction efforts
China Camp Fire Resilience Video - 2025