El Dorado County
COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN
Community Tab for
GRIZZLY FLATS FIRE SAFE COUNCIL ACTIVITIES
Photo: Hoskins Hotel, Main Street, Grizzly Flat, CA, Dedicated 1886
Prepared for Inclusion in the:
EL DORADO COUNTY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Diamond Springs, California 95636
Prepared for:
GRIZZLY FLATS FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
PO Box 152
Grizzly Flats, California
JANUARY 2017
Grizzly Flats Section of the El Dorado County CWPP 2016
The Community of Grizzly Flats was identified in the Federal Register as a Community at Risk and is the location of one of seven Healthy Forest Initiative Environmental Assessment Demonstration Projects in the United States. The Last Chance Fuel Reduction Project (LCFRP) is one of the national projects which is located on National Forest lands adjacent to Grizzly Flats and was selected because of heavy fuel loading and topography. Past fire history indicates a high likelihood of a major fire threatening Grizzly Flats. The community of Grizzly Flats is located in a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). In 2002, the Grizzly Flats community residents came together to discuss living in the heart of a high fire hazard area. In an effort to prevent or minimize a catastrophic wildland fire to their community, they became organized with a collective focused effort and designated a volunteer group of people, who in turn created the Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council (GFFSC) in 2004. The GFFSC, under the guidance of the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC), GFFSC's parent organization, and the requirements of CAL FIRE, created its first Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) in 2006. The CWPP defines the community's priorities for the protection of the community's assets from wildfire. Once this CWPP update document has been approved by the listed Agencies, the 2006 Grizzly Flats CWPP shall be appended to it and together they shall be the 2012 Grizzly Flats CWPP as a single document.
Community Description
The Grizzly Flats community is located in El Dorado County, established in the early 1850’s as a
gold rush town that evolved into a community around the timber industry in much of the 20th
century. In 1852 Grizzly Flats was described by John Doble in his Journal as “…a beautiful
rolling country before us but no vegetation except tall pine timber was visible.”(Doble, 1999)
John Doble’s Journal and Letters From The Mines Volcano, Mokelumne Hill, Jackson and San
Francisco 1851-1865, Volcano Press, Inc , 1999. This book gives the reader a good description
of human impacts during the Gold Rush era and a view into vegetation and Native American use
of fire.
Grizzly Flats Community Services District encompasses approximately 1,670 acres made up of
1,235 parcels with 497 homes, and approximately 1250 people. Parcel size range from 1/4 to 40
acres. The GFFSC Sphere of Influence incorporates total of 24,869 Acres, 2010 population of
1404, 819 housing units. The community is located east of Diamond Springs, CA and adjacent
to the Eldorado National Forest (ENF) western boundary. The main access roads are the Grizzly
Flat and String Canyon County Roads. Elevations average about 4000 feet above sea level
situated in the Sierra Nevada just above the foothills on the western boundary of the Eldorado
National Forest.. The topography within the community is relatively gentle, but String Canyon to
the west and the Steely Fork of Cosumnes River to the south form steep canyons with heavy fuel
loading. The vegetation (fuels) is primarily a second growth stand of mixed conifers with
understory fuels that form a fuel ladder.
The community has a Post Office, school, church, seasonal fire station and a Community Service
District (CSD) which is the purveyor of water. The CSD water system stores, treats and
distributes metered water. There is also an extensive fire hydrant system. The Pioneer Fire
Protection District provides primarily the structure firefighting resources as well as wildfire
protection for the community. The Eldorado National Forest provides wildfire protection for the
State Responsibility Areas through and agreement with The California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CDF). (Grizzly Flats Community Action Plan, Leisz and Murphy, 2004).
The GFFSC completed it’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan in January, 2006 and the update
to that plan was completed in March of 2012.
The community falls under the local governmental administration of the County of El Dorado,
and it is within Supervisor District 2.
Emergency Services
The Pioneer Fire Protection District provides primarily structure fire protection. There is a fire
station in Grizzly Flat, and currently there is an unstaffed Type 4 engine located in the building.
There is fire equipment based at Willow Station, Station 31. This is a volunteer station, which is
only periodically staffed. The next nearest station with personnel on duty is Station 38 near Mt.
Aukum approximately 45 minutes away. The Eldorado County Fire District has a structure
firefighting station and the closest ambulance located in Pleasant Valley approximately 45
minutes away. The Pleasant Valley station equipment can respond to Grizzly Flat at times
beating Station 38 personnel to Grizzly Flat. The closest CALFIRE stations are River Pines and
Camino.
The US Forest Service through an agreement with CALFIRE provides wildfire protection. The
U S Forest Service has a station in Grizzly Flats that is occupied during wildfire season from
May until November depending on wildfire season length. The closest CALFIRE stations are
River Pines and Camino, approximately 60 minutes away from Grizzly Flats.1
1 Grizzly Flats Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2006
Table 1: Grizzly Flats Sphere of Influence
Table 2: Grizzly Flats Projects waiting for grant funding
Fire Safe Council
Project Title
Project Type
Priority
CEQA
status
Fuel Type
Treatment
Acres
# Right of Entr
y
Habitable Structure
s Protected
Est. Cost/Acr
e
Total Estimated Cost
Funding
source
Project Descriptio
n Photo Point
Grizzly Flat
GF-13 Shaded Fuel Break 1
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 60 Map
38 38.867, 120 32.517
GF- 28 Shaded Fuel Break 2
Mixed Conifer
Mastication Some Hand 35 Map
38 38.815, 120 31.080
GF-26 Shaded Fuel Break 3
Mixed Conifer
Mastication Some Hand 9 Map
38 38.657, 120 30.967
GF-17 Shaded Fuel Break 4
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 250 Map
38 36.870, 120 35.408
GF 33
Defensible space around Community Water tanks 5
Mixed Conifer
Hand Clearing 2 1 Map
GF-18 Shaded Fuel Break 6
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 75 Map
38 36.237, 120 33.452
GF-20 Shaded Fuel Break 7
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 70
Fuel Break along Cosumnes Mine Road
GF-23 Maintenance of Water Source 8
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 2
Clean up Fire Protection Reservoir in Woodpecker Acres
GF-14 Fuel Reduction 9
Mixed Conifer
Mastication Some Hand 100
Hazard Reduction in vacant lots
GF-16 Shaded Fuel Break 10
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 20
Treat Huggy Bear Parcels
Fire Safe Council
Project Title
Project Type
Priority
CEQA
status
Fuel Type
Treatment
Acres
# Right of Entr
y
Habitable Structure
s Protected
Est. Cost/Acr
e
Total Estimated Cost
Funding
source
Project Descriptio
n Photo Point
GF-24 Shaded Fuel Break 11
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 30
Along Steely Ridge Road
GF-30
Shaded Fuel Break 12
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 80
Clean up area of Logging operation left on APN 041-040-15
GF-29
Shaded Fuel Break 13
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 25
Three parcels 041-040-22, 041-040-43 7 041-040-44
GF-11 Shaded Fuel Break 14
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 50
Maintenance of completed projects
GF-10 Shaded Fuel Break 15
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 50
Maintenance of completed projects
GF-22 Shaded Fuel Break 16
Mixed Conifer
Mastication 40
Shaded fuel break on APN 041-011-36
Table 3: Grizzly Flats Fire Safe Council Active and Pending Projects
GFFSC 2016 CWPP --- Active and Pending Fuel Reduction Projects
Assigned Priority
Project No.
Project Description Estimated
Project Acres (+/-)
Act
ive
Pro
ject
"A" GF-32 SRA Grant Application Submitted 9-28-16 ~~ Remove hazardous TM dead or dying trees within the GFFSC's Sphere of Recognition. Grant awared results expected in November, 2016.
35
"B" GF-12b
Chip remaining 17 pile of cut vegetation on private property within GF-12 Project boundary. Location: APNs 041-734-05 & 041-450-08; near interestion of Wooded Glen Drive & Golden Aspen Drive.
2
"C" GF-19 Prescribed Burn - Caldor Road within Leoni Meadows property; 200' north and 400' south of Caldor Road. Treatment by Leoni Meadows Camp staff.
70
Pe
nd
ing
Pro
ject
s
1 GF-13 Shaded Fuel Break - Near Eagle Mine Road (near & south of Verizon Cell Tower) to Old Mine Road.
70
2 GF-28 Shaded Fuel Break - Tyler properties (APNs 041-021-07 & 041-021-08), Lucas properties (APNs 041-021-21 & 041-021-22), and Fender property (APN 041-029-11).
50
3 GF-26 Shaded Fuel Break - The 3 parcels south & down slope of the GFCSD's Reservoir site (APNs 041-892-01, 041-892-02 & 041-892-03).
9
4 GF-33 Defensible space around Community Service District water tanks: Winding Way Tank (APN 041-613-136) and Tyler Drive Tank (APN 041-491-01).
2
5 GF-17 Shaded Fuel break - Caldor road neighborhood near Grizzly Flats Road. 250
6 GF-18 Shaded Fuel Break and/or Roadside Fuel Reduction - Thru Henry's Diggins properties.
480
7 GF-20 Shaded Fuel Break along Cosumnes Mine Road neighborhood (300' wide --- 150' on each side of Cosumnes Mine Road).
70
8 GF-23 Restoration and maintenance work - To Fire Protection Reservoir within Woodpecker Acres Subdivision; near intersection of String Canyon Road and Cosumnes Mine Road (on private property, APN 041-931-33)
2
9 GF-14 Shaded Fuel Break - Treat undeveloped private parcels of land (within the project's defined boundary).
100
10 GF-16 Shaded Fuel Break - Treat Huggy Bear Lane private parcels of land not treated with GF-12 work.
20
11 GF-24 Shaded Fuel Break and/or Roadside Fuel Reduction - Along Steely Ridge Road (300' wide --- 150' on each side of Steely Ridge Road).
30
12 GF-30 Shaded Fuel Break (cleanup fuels left on the ground from logging operation). This project area was originally designed to be a part of GF-7 -- APN 041-040-15.
80
13 GF-29 Shaded Fuel Break - Treatment on parcels APNs 041-040-22, 041-040-43 & 041-040-44 ("Gilbert" property).
25
14 GF-11 Shaded Fuel Break maintenance - To completed GF-4 and GF-5 projects. 50
15 GF-10 Shaded Fuel Break - Treate the untreated sections of GF-5 and GF-6/7. 50
16 GF-22 Shaded Fuel Break treatment on APN 041-011-36. 40
Total Acreage of all Active and Pending Projects = 1,435
Figure 1: GF 13 Photo
Figure 2: GF 28 Photo
Figure 3 GF 26 Photo
Figure 4: GF17 Photo
