Major U.S. partnership aims to use fuel-break network to protect California forests from fires

SACRAMENTO — If you've ever flown over California's forests, you may have noticed long, cleared strips of land cutting through the trees. These are fuel breaks, which are strategically cleared areas to help slow the spread of wildfires. 

Now, a new partnership between private and federal landowners aims to connect these fuel breaks into one unified defense system. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service are joining forces with Sierra Pacific Industries, a major lumber company, in a $75 million partnership to build and maintain fuel breaks throughout California and Oregon. 

Right now, fuel breaks are scattered and disconnected. This agreement will connect them across private land owned by Sierra Pacific and public land creating a unified front to help protect communities and forests historically known to be at high risk for wildfires. 

"When suppression efforts are launched, we have a better chance to combat these wildfires which we all know are a tremendous problem in California," said Matt Dias of the California Forestry Association. 

It will take 23 projects over the next three years to add about 400 miles of new fuel breaks to the existing 2,200-mile network. 

"When you have firefighting in addition to a fuel break, they stop fires 68% of the time," said Mark Emmerson, CEO of Sierra Pacific. 

Emmerson knows the benefits of these fuel breaks first-hand, noting the communities of Butte Meadows and Forest Ranch were protected in last year's Park Fire due to the Highway 32 fuel break. 

"These fuel breaks save properties, infrastructure, resources and lives," he said. 

This partnership is driven and united by one goal: to build a stronger defense against wildfires. 

"That's the vision, is having the industry the forest private sector as a whole stand up and stand tall to help the forest service get this done for the protection of resources in California.," Dias said. 

The first couple of projects are expected to begin this May. They expect to have the connection completed by 2028.