Fuels reduction project set for Autumn Hills, Jobs Peak Ranch

The site of a forest fire that claimed four homes in 1996 will receive some care thanks to a state fire fuels reduction grant.

Four homes and 3,400 acres stretching from the base to top of the Carson Valley side of Kingsbury Grade burned in the June 23, 1996, Autumn Hills Fire.

East Fork Fire Chief Tod Carlini said the vegetation growth in the Autumn Hills area is now worse than before the fire.

Two Nevada Shared Good Neighbor Stewardship Grants will fund fuels reduction work in the Autumn Hills and Jobs Peak Ranch areas, the East Fork Fire Protection District announced on Tuesday. 

The grants totaling $285,222 will allow the District Fuels and Fire Crew to conduct fuels reduction work within both developments.  The work will also include voluntary defensible space inspections for area residents.

East Fork volunteer personnel will conduct the property assessments and will soon be going door to door with information about the fuel reduction effort, Carlini said.

The district plans on establishing fuel breaks, aiding with defensible space around homes, thinning certain areas, and reinforcing natural fuel breaks along roadways. A community meeting was held last month where attendees were able to see the planning maps and receive additional information.

Work in the Jobs Peak area will consist of slash and pile chipping of understory material.  The Jobs Peak development was the recipient of a Community Wildland Fire Protection Grant three years ago.  The new grant received by the district will allow for a continuation of work in that area. East Fork is working with the Jobs Peak Homeowners Association.

Funding for the effort was provided by the Community Stewardship Grant Program using federal funds, which is managed by the Nevada Division of Forestry.

“The district is working hard to secure additional funding for fuels management projects,” Carlini said. “Most recently, the district is working on securing grant funding for a $300,000 project, which would fund similar fuels management work in the Eagle Ridge Development, north of Genoa.”

The district is currently working with Genoa on a grant-funded fuels management program.