Fire Prevention
Annual All Community Firewise Updates Meeting Hosted by Jim Richardson
Schnedier Ballfield Across from Park HQ
Saturday, July 6, 2024 1 p.m.
The community joined Jim for the annual gathering to hear the latest Firewise, TinderSmart and RCD updates and community announcements.
Firewise USA®
In 2019, then current Jim Richardson, Lassen Volcanic National Park Superintendent, enrolled Mineral as a Firewise USA® Site. He and a volunteer six-member council have since been been using resources provided by the national organization to prevent catastrophic wildfire in Mineral and Stringtown.
The council's work has largely focused on educating residents about fire prevention and encouraging them to create defensible space around their properties. “This [has been] getting results, but there is still much to be done. In particular, a lot of . . . homes have tree branches touching or nearly touching them. These should at least be trimmed, if the trees themselves are not removed. Many lots are just too thick with trees, with branches touching each other throughout the property," Richardson said in 2020.
The group also worked with Tehama County's Resource Conservation District to secure a 4-year Cal Fire grant for hazard tree and ground-to-crown ladder fuels removal. Work is starting this year in alleyways and along roads. No work will be performed on private property without the landowner's permission. Watch the home page and calendar for more information.
Mineral and Mill Creek 2023 Certificate.pdf2023 Firewise Certificate Available for Insurance
Our volunteer Community Firewise Council works to keep our community increasingly safe against destruction due to wildfire. This includes efforts to reduce yard waste, high-risk trees and potential issues in case of fire.
In case you need the Firewise certificate to receive discounts on your insurance, you can access it (to save or print) here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sEVsvPPAnf8Y7jwbTLHwkMNIEE6tuTxK/view?usp=sharing
Jim reports: " The Firewise certificate is what our insurance agents are looking for to give us a discount on our home insurance each year.:
Questions about Firewise? Contact Jim Richardson, our local representative.
July Community Meeting
For the latest in Mineral fire prevention news, come to the community Q&A with Jim Richardson on the Saturday of 4th of July weekend at 1 PM on the Al Schneider Stadium ball field across Hwy. 36 from the National Park Service Administrative Headquarters.
Updates will include the status of the Firewise Council, the recent grants to clear fire fuels from the Mineral area and various grants available to Mineral residents.
This tends to be a big event, so you may want to bring a folding chair, cold drink and hat.
Be Prepared
Click here to visit CALFIRE's Ready for Wildfire page Find out what steps you can take right now to protect your home by clicking HERE.
Read more about preparedness on our website's Preparedness page, addressing preparing for wildfire and other potential dangers in our area.
Creating and maintaining 100 feet of defensible space around habitable structures is a wildfire preventative practice. Landowners within State Responsibility Areas (SRA) are required to create and maintain defensible space and those within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) zone are encouraged to do so.
Are you eligible to receive FREE help through the Tehama Conservation Fund's Defensible Space Assistance program? Limited time offer. See full details and apply here. Questions? Contact at tcf@tehamacountyrcd.org or (530) 727-1280
Tree Trimming
Wright Tree Trimming is trimming trees and chipping branches from trees above the power lines. This photo taken on May 24, 2024 shows the team completing trimming of trees near the wires on one of the properties. Several properties were completed on this day.
The Mineral & Stringtown Hazard Tree Removal Project serves to treat dead, dying, and diseased trees, and trees that violate Public Resources Code 4291. Learn more here. Read more at TinderSmart Tehama's Wildfire Readiness Website.
As we go into Summer 2024, the tree thinning project has resumed in Stringtown where it left off last fall, and will continue with contractor P31 until those grant $s are exhausted.