The Claremont Canyon Conservancy is a catalyst for the long-term protection and restoration of the canyon's natural environment and an advocate for comprehensive fire safety along its wildland/urban interface.
President's Message
by L.Tim Wallace
On April 25, FEMA released its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) covering wildfire hazard mitigation projects planned for the East Bay Hills. The 45-day review period is underway and will end June 17. A sample letter is shown below. Send by email EBH-EIS-FEMA-RIX@fema.dhs.gov, fax, (510) 627-7147, or US post. Click here for more information.
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FEMA
P.O. Box 72379
Oakland, CA 94612-8579
Re: Support of EIS for East Bay Hills
Dear FEMA,
I strongly support the wildfire hazard mitigation projects for the East Bay Hills and feel that they have been studied long enough. I believe the EIS findings of improved fire safety and likely long-term improvements to the native landscape should move forward without delay. We Claremont Canyon residents know only too well that, when ignited, the eucalyptus canopy will spread wildfire dramatically during our windy fire season. With removal of invasive trees and yearly follow-up to discourage re-growth and weeds, native vegetation will thrive. Thank you for supporting this important work. Please approve the EIS as soon as possible.
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PLEASE JOIN US for the events below or read about recent goings-on in our blogs (right sidebar). All events are free for members and the general public. We welcome all fitness levels. For outdoor events, please wear long sleeves, long pants, sturdy shoes and a hat. Vegetation volunteers should also bring gloves.
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June Schedule of Events coming soon. Please check back.
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The Science Behind Eucalyptus Fire Hazards by Carol Rice
Carol Rice is an East Bay native who has headed Wildland Resource Management Inc. in Alamo for over 35 years. As a fire ecologist, she has worked in most of the Bay Area’s open spaces with the charge of protecting both ecosystems and human habitats.
Eucalyptus has a reputation for being a serious fire hazard, and like all reputations, some of it is earned, some is not. This article (click here) describes fuel characteristics of eucalyptus that make it more or less prone to ignite and burn with intensity.
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by Jerry Kent
AGENCY DECISIONS ABOUT GROWING large blue gum eucalyptus trees may be as risky as Frank Havens’ Mahogany Eucalyptus and Land Company of the early 1900s. That enterprise ultimately went belly-up when Havens’ 3,000 acres of eucalyptus trees in the East Bay Hills failed to become a “gold mine,” proving to be unusable for hardwood lumber. One hundred years later, the East Bay Regional Park District (Park District) and other agencies could be stuck spending untold millions trying to deal with Havens’ large and dense groves, now identified as extreme wildfire hazards. Read more
