A Strategic Partnership for Fire Safety and Forest Health
Paradise Pines Property Owners Association (POA), Paradise Irrigation District (PID), Paradise Recreation and Park District (PRPD)
PID, POA and PRPD properties are located in strategic areas that surround Magalia Reservoir, the domestic water supply for Paradise and Magalia, and are potential travel ways for wildfires from the valley and the foothills to residential areas on the ridge.
Perched on the rim of the West branch of the Feather River, PID property buffers Magalia Reservoir and residences from wildfires approaching out of the canyon.
Located on the bluffs above Butte Creek, POA green belts form the south and southwest flanks of Magalia.
Chaparral fires coming up from Butte creek encounter POA greenbelts first, an important reason to strategize for fuels reduction.
In response to local wildfire occurrences near Paradise in the early 2000's, PID and POA and Butte County Fire Safe Council began a collaborative effort for wildfire safety through roadside fuel break and forest thinning projects as well as community education to protect roads, infrastructure, and residents on the ridge.
Fuels Reduction Projects on PID property, 2001-2017
Fuels Reduction Projects on POA property, 2001-2017.
The tragic Camp Fire in 2018 severely impacted a significant portion of POA an PID properties.
90% of PID property was impacted by the Camp Fire.
65% POA property was impacted by the Camp Fire.
Fortunately, there were some success stories due to the collaborative effort of the POA,PID and BCFS's historical forest thinning projects
After the Camp Fire, cleanup and reforestation on the Upper Ridge began and continues in earnest.
In 2019, emergency permits were issued to PID and POA to allow salvage logging of the fire killed trees. Funds generated from this salvage logging were used to reforest PID and POA properties and to provide removal of hazard trees around residences in the POA area.
In the spring of 2020 and 2021, 30,000 seedlings were replanted on the 193 acres of PID and POA property that were salvage logged to remove dead trees.
As newly planted trees began to grow so did invasives and brush.
Unmanaged areas around a recent fire scar can be choked full of shrubs, vines, blackberries and invasive species. These quick growing understory species can be a major catalyst for wildfire and will also choke out tree regeneration. Where replanting has been done, understory brush can out-compete newly planted seedlings and oak re-sprouts.
Cutting, browsing or grazing understory shrubs and invasive species back can slow growth, but many of these species will continue to re-sprout and regrow until sunlight becomes limited and other more desirable plants such as conifers and oaks can out compete them.
Successful reforestation requires consistent re-treatment of shrubs and invasives.
Combating Invasives
The highly flammable Scotch and French Broom are the most aggressive invasive species in the area.
Larger shrubs or populations of broom should be mechanically cut prior to bloom and seed set with a follow up herbicide treatment of the stumps and re-sprouts.
Because they are prolific seeders with seeds that remain viable for decades (up to 30 years for French and 80 years for Scotch Broom),it will take multiple years of re-treatments to deplete the seed bank and bring them under control.
Learn how to doom the broom here:
Using herbicides, grazing and prescribed fire to retreat an area allows the replanted conifers and oak sprouts to become established.
The Butte County Fire Safe Council has implemented grazing projects around Paradise to combat invasives.
Aerial Depiction showing POA areas grazed on the left and bottom and PID areas grazed on the upper center (around Magalia Reservoir).
Future Treatments for POA and PID.
With a goal of Reforestation and Forest Resiliency.
Prescriptions: PID 2023-2024
Biomass Removal
- Remove dead, dying and down trees and brush as unmerchantable logs, firewood and chips.
Mastication
- Areas where moderate to heavy areas of brush have grown back post fire. Low to moderate powered mastication will be used to treat brush.
Prescriptions: PID 2024-2028
Hand Cut Pile Burning
- Cut all dead, dying and suppressed trees less than 10". Thin trees to 25' spacing.
- Pile cut material for burning clear of live trees and high water marks of the watercourse.
- Thin hardwood stump sprouts to 18' to 25' spacing.
- Ignite piles in late fall/ early winter.
Prescriptions: High Intensity Treatment POA 2023-2024
WLPZ
- Cut dead and dying, down trees.
- Use track chipper to chip limbs and brush less than 6". Blow chips on ground away from watercourse.
- Material 6" to 20" cut into firewood rounds.
- Material over 20" buck logs into 16' lengths, leave on site for wildlife habitat.
- Follow up with brush cutters to mow grass and brush.
Mastication
- Areas where moderate to heavy areas of brush have grown back post fire. Low to moderate powered mastication will be used to treat brush.
Biomass Removal
- Remove dead, dying and down trees and brush as unmerchantable logs, firewood and chips.
Prescriptions: POA 2024-2028
Hand cut, pile burn
- Cut all dead, dying and suppressed trees under 6" dbh in WLPZ, 10" dbh outside WLPZ. Thin trees to 20' spacing.
- Pile cut material for burning clear of live trees and high water marks of the watercourse.
Grazing
Herbicide
- Herbicide application in areas that have been salvage logged and replanted.
Best management practices are utilized when applying herbicides to protect our environment, allow wildlife to flourish and provide a habitat where trees can be re-established after the fire. If you're interested in more information about these practices see the following link:
Adopt-a-Forest
Adopt-a-Forest provides the much-needed opportunity for community volunteers to be active stewards on the public and private landscapes in and around Paradise Lake and Magalia Reservoir. This annual event has taken place in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Adopt-a-Forest has successfully united a wide-range of volunteers including local middle and high schools, the Magalia Beautification Association, Paradise Recreation and Parks District (PRPD), Paradise Irrigation District (PID), US Forest Service (USFS), Butte County Resource Conservation District BCRCD), California Volunteers, Love Paradise, and many other groups. In alignment with our commitment to forest stewardship, we focus on teaching key practices including the eradication of invasive species such as broom, fostering oak regeneration through stump sprout pruning, advancing reforestation initiatives, and monitoring the impact of grazing.
If you are interested in joining a future Adopt-a-forest event please email: ready@buttefiresafe.net
Credits:
Butte County Fire Safe Council; a non-profit, grassroots community organization.
buttefiresafe.net
