Wildland urban interface (WUI) Lightning Not human caused Recreation Developed campgrounds Dispersed recreation Water-based recreation Off-road vehicles (OHV/ORV) Mountain bikes Hunters/Recreational Shooting Trails, hikers, rock climbers Other Fire Risks Transportation corridors Fireworks Shooting, target areas Children, matches Incendiary device, arson Slash burning Hazard the definition for the word “hazard” varies for other applications, in wildand fire suppression it is used to describe the relationship between fuels and topography. This use should not be confused with other definitions. Factors such as fuel type, (grass, brush, or timber/live dead ratio), the amount of fuel (heavy, medium, or light/), and terrain are evaluated when rating MA’s for hazard. The hazard assessment considers: Expected fire behavior based on fuels and topography; Wildland urban interface; Overhanging branches, trash debris, fine fuels, ground fuels, fuel ladders; Vegetation clearances around campfire areas within the forest boundary, including leaf litter and duff, debris, wood piles against buildings; Dry, dead or overhanging vegetation around power lines and poles; Dry vegetation along roadsides where vehicles may stop; The value given characteristics and qualities of an area varies from person to person based on their perspective. Therefore, assessing value is a subjective process which needs to be approached from different perspectives. To accomplish this, an interdisciplinary approach was used to rate areas based on characteristics which would be affected by wildland fire, see list below. Areas were rated relative to other areas as high, moderate or low. Characteristics used for the assessment include, but are not limited to: Air sheds Aquatic/wildlife habitat Backcountry by-ways Commercial development Cultural/historical Forest products Government property Improvements Life Minerals Plantations Political Private property Recreation Riparian zones Scenic by-ways Social Soils
Table 5: ENF Patrol Areas with Patrol Needs Patrol Area District Patrol Visibility and Concerns Bear River/ Mokelumne Canyon Amador High High frequency of recreational use, educating visitors of new fire restriction policies, general forest visitors, identified shooting areas, fuel wood cutting and natural fire ignition detection and monitoring of identified resource benefit fires. Gold Note/ Pipi/ Middle Fork Amador High High frequency of recreation use identified shooting areas and fuel wood cutting. Grizzly Flat/ Elkins Flat/ Plummer Amador/ Placerville High High frequency of OHV and recreational use. This area also has the small subdivision of Grizzly Park on the district boundary, which is a main access point for fuel wood cutting and general forest visitors as well as Leoni Meadows Camp. Up Country/ Blue Lakes Amador Moderate Recreational use, educating visitors of new fire restriction policies and fuel wood cutting. Sly Park/ MET Amador/ Placerville High to Moderate Fuel wood cutting, recreational use, which includes identified shooting areas, camping and OHV use and the main route of travel between the Placerville and Amador Districts.
Cable Forebay Placerville Low To Moderate This area is outside of the National Forest Direct Protection Area, (DPA), however, is a significant amount of Federal property within the patrol area. This area has numerous residences throughout. It does see recreational use, camping, woodcutting and OHV use. Highway 50 Corridor Placerville High to Moderate Camping, recreational use, summer homes and the highway, this area is extremely congested on the weekends, but cannot be ignored. This area has high potential for large fire activity due to the location of the highway, river use and the residences throughout the corridor from Pollock Pines to Echo Summit. Packsaddle Pass/ Silver Fork Placerville High High frequency of recreational use, educating visitors of new fire restriction policies, general forest visitors, natural fire ignition detection and monitoring of identified resource benefit fires. Ralston Georgetown Moderate to High High frequency of recreational use, general forest visitors, identified shooting areas, fuel wood cutting. Hell Hole/ Nevada Point Georgetown Low to Moderate This area has moderate recreational use, camping, woodcutting and OHV use. to increase when fall hunting season arrives. Mosquito Georgetown High High frequency of recreation, OHV and camping. Bald Mountain/ Poho Georgetown High High frequency of OHV and other recreational use. This also includes the Volcanoville area and numerous private land holdings. Big Hill Pacific High to Moderate Camping and recreational use in this area. This area also includes the Mountain summer children’s camp, Icehouse and Union Valley reservoirs and the White Meadows area. Numerous private land holdings are located in this area. There is also a high frequency of fuel woodcutting and target shooting.