The Sierra RCD Forestry and Watershed Program completed the Mountain Top Ranch Community Fuels Reduction Project to improve wildfire resilience and enhance community safety in the Auberry area and the Mountain Top Ranch Firewise Community. This project was funded as part of the US Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant. The project focused on reducing hazardous ladder fuels and increasing vertical and horizontal vegetation spacing along key access routes to support firefighting efforts and provide safer and more reliable evacuation routes.
Fuel reduction work was completed along 0.72 miles of Mountain Top Ranch Road, 0.25 miles of Old Auberry Road, and 1.1 miles of private roads, resulting in the treatment of 33.8 acres of brush and accumulated fuels. Crews removed hazardous vegetation and raised tree canopies to decrease ladder fuels while also increasing available pasture and grazing space.
The project complements nearby fuels reduction efforts, including the adjacent CAL FIRE Comstock Shaded Fuel Break, resulting in a larger network of strategically treated areas across the landscape. Habitat considerations were also incorporated into the project, with select brush piles retained to provide cover for quail. In addition to reducing wildfire risk, the project benefits the area’s biodiverse oak woodlands, which support native species such as baby blue eyes, warrior’s plume, and California wild turkey.
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