Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council
On-Line Board Meeting
Attendance: Terry Bolt, Don Davis, Tom Gelder, Christine Hancock,
Gordon Hancock, Sharon Rooney, Ed Royce, Lloyd Smith with reports by Patrick
Pontes
The meeting was held via e-mail reports submitted by Board members and
necessary votes were taken by polling Board members for their opinions.
President's Report - Lloyd Smith
--Contacted Corina Roberts for a presentation at May 19, 2011 Stakeholder's
meeting and received Board concurrence on a $100.00 stipend for Ms. Roberts.
Corina Roberts is a writer, photographer and the founder of Redbird, a Native
American and environmental non-profit association. Roberts has spent the last
year documenting the recovery of the Angeles National Forest from the Station
Fire, the largest wild land fire in the history of Los Angeles County. The
Forest Recovery Project examines the role of fire in healthy ecosystems as well
as the human relationship to fire management, past and present. Roberts has
amassed a collection in excess of 20,000 images from the forest's three primary
biomes; chaparral, riparian and hardwood/conifer forests.
-- Prepared changes for Living With Fire, submitted and received approval
from California Fire Safe Council, and sent to Kern Valley Sun for
incorporation.
-- Prepared an article regarding the Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council for the
Kern Valley Sun. Received approval from California Fire Safe Council on content.
--Talked with Mike Heffner, newly promoted Battalion Chief in the Kern River
Valley (shift "C"), to try to stimulated representation by the local
battalion chiefs at our Stakeholder's meetings.
Treasurer's Report - Sharon Rooney
See attached financial reports for April
Grants - Ed Royce, Chair
Ongoing 2010 Projects:
--The 2010 Burma Interagency Extension Project has completed 35 acres. Work
remains on the six acre Rogers Road maintenance section. The 2010 Bodfish III
project is nearly completed, except for a small amount of brush clearing and
burning slash piles. No progress was made on either project in the last month.
We have made a commitment to five more chipper days between these two projects.
Patrick Pontes' report is attached.
--No update on the USFS three-year Alta Sierra-Wofford Heights Project. With
snow still on the ground, we didn't expect any progress this month.
2011 Projects:
--All clearances have been received for the Lake Isabella and Mountain Shadows
projects, so work may commence at any time. $5000 for each project as start-up
money is expected shortly.
2012 Proposals:
--In view of the federal budget uncertainties, the deadline for proposal
submission has been extended to June 1, 2011. Ken Delfino will be traveling at
this time so he will complete the proposal before leaving. Alternatively, Ed
Royce will submit the proposal electronically.
--Ed Royce and Ken Delfino attended the state FSC grants workshop in Clovis on
April14th. The workshop was conducted by Liron Galliano, who handles grants in
the southern Sierra Nevada, north of Kern County. The materials were similar to
those used in Cathy Brooke's workshops. Brooke will be conducting a similar
workshop on April 26th in Ventura. Board members or stakeholders interested in
the nuts and bolts of how the grant program works may find the session
instructive -- see the state FSC web site for more info.
Of interest at the Clovis session was the attendance of the state FSC
Executive Director, Margaret Grayson, and newly elected Board Chairman, Pat
Kidder. Margaret stated that 2011 funds are not in jeopardy in the current
budget skirmishing in Washington because they have already been committed and/or
obligated. 2012 funding is still up in the air. Margaret urged letters to our
congress people and senators reminding them of the importance of these funds and
what they have already accomplished. Pat re-enforced Margaret's comments and
mentioned that Board members have been working on the problem with their
Washington contacts. He also stated that the Board is doing long-range planning
concerning the state FSC's future. With the reduction in the level of grant
funding over the last few years, he anticipates that they may gradually reduce
staffing.
--Cathy Brooke, our state FSC grant manager, will visit on Monday May 2nd. The
session begins at 9:00 AM in the Forest Service conference room in Kernville. We
will then visit the Burma Extension and Bodfish III projects, with special
attention to the Bull Fire and how the Burma Extension project helped control
it. Board members and anyone else interested are invited to attend the session
in Kernville.
Chipper Days - Don Davis, Chair
Scheduled dates for the Fire Safe Council Chipper Days:
--Full Days:
May 7 - None (Crew 7 training)
May 14 - None (Crew 7 training)
May 21 - Squirrel Valley - Contact: Mike Lanza (760) 379-2858
May 28 - Pala Ranches/Tillie Creek HOA - Contact: Bruce Ray (760) 376-1658
June 4 - Alta Sierra - Contact: Penny Lampkins (760) 376-4053
--Roving Days (Only a few hours at each address):
During the 3rd week of the month, contact the owner for date coordination.
April 18-22 - Silver City Ghost Town - Bodfish - Contact: Jay Corlew (760)
379-5146
216 Erdle Rd - Havilah (no contact needed)
May 16-20 - 11010 Maverick, Weldon - Contact: Katie Lambie (760) 417-0199
--Spoke to and visited Dan Cork's house in Havilah to see how much chipper
work needed. The brushing that was done fits into the intent of creating a safe
ingress and egress for the home owners on Dan's road. This work will be added to
Crew 7 to do when they work on the Ghost Town.
--The 18 March Walker Pass chipper day went extremely well with the composite
BLM crew. President Smith sent a note of thanks to David Brinsfield with copy to
Tim Smith.
--President Smith wrote and submitted an article to the Kern Valley Sun on the
season's first chipper day in Walker Pass. The article was combined with Don
Davis' article on Chipper Days throughout the Kern River Valley.
--Total Mileage: (105 miles; 1 hour Matched)
Fundraising - Tom Gelder
--Receive $500.00 sustaining membership from Tom Parkin. President Smith
wrote and sent a special thank you to him.
Website - Ed Royce, Chair
Updates have been prepared and have been mounted. Updates include new
officers, Board members, and committee chairs on the "About Us--page,
minutes through March, 2011, the 2011 Provider's List, and the news story on the
first chipper day.
Education/ Speaker's Bureau - Terry Bolt, Chair
--Gordon and Christine Hancock attended the Living Green event on March 27,
2011 from 12 noon to 2p.m. at the Senior Center in Lake Isabella. They observed
that there is still misunderstanding within the community regarding the Fire
Safe Council's role. (7 miles matched)
--Gordon and Christine Hancock attended the Spring Health Faire on April 12,
2011 from 8a.m. to 11:30a.m. at the Kern Valley Hospital Cafeteria. A sponsor
was acquired to cover the fee. Approximately forty people stopped, took
brochures and pet stickers and asked questions. (20 miles matched)
--Christine Hancock will send Patrick Pontes the pictures, mileage, dates,
hours, and attendance for matching purposes.
--The Living With Fire pamphlet will be available at the KV Sun on Wednesday May
4th. The planned distribution is 9,500 to KV Sun, 4,000 to the Courier, and the
remainder of 20,000 (or 6,500) for use in the schools and as handouts throughout
the year. (This date was delayed and the brochure will not be distributed by the
Courier.)
--KERN RIVER VALLEY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL LAUNCHES WILDFIRE AWARENESS WEEK, MAY
2-8
Take Responsibility, It's a Clear Choice: After the Bull and Canyon
Fires of Last Year the Council Urges Homeowners, Businesses, Neighborhoods,
and Communities to Get Ready for Fire Season.
Even as the Kern River Valley continues to recover from last season's
wildfires, the Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council urged homeowners,
businesses, neighborhoods and communities to get ready for fire season again
when it kicks off Wildfire Awareness Week May 2-8. Wildfire Awareness Week is
an annual campaign to remind people to take steps to reduce the risk of
wildfire damage and to act in a fire safe manner.
Residents of the Kern River Valley have a clear choice: Take responsibility,
Be fire safe. This means clearing defensible space to give firefighters a safe
zone to fight fires,--offers Lloyd Smith, President, Kern River Valley Fire
Safe Council. The Council's Chipper Day program provides assistance with the
disposal of your branches and brush from you defensible space clearance. For
information on chipper days contact Don Davis at (760) 376-4116 or email
krvchipperdays@aol.com.
Defensible space is a minimum 30-foot clearance of flammable plants from
around a structure. This does not mean a ring of bare dirt, but includes a
fire resistant landscape. Homeowners can assess their home's defensibility by
using the homeowner's checklist at our website www.krvfiresafecouncil.org, or
watch for Living With Fire, an insert, in next week's edition of the Kern
Valley Sun.
--The Kernville Chamber of Commerce requested our presence at its meeting on
April 25th to talk about defensible space and the new rules regarding weed
clearance. Terry Bolt will attend with brochures and other information. She is
trying to recruit someone from the Kern County Fire Department to accompany her.
--Terry Bolt has talked to the schools about scheduling time with the classes as
soon as the "Living with Fire--brochure is available. She anticipates a
party for the winning classes for K-4 and Grades 5-8.
--Bolt hopes to get some community projects done through the students and is
calling churches to see if they want some of the "Living with Fire"
brochures as well.
--President Smith sent another reminder to the Forest Service about rotating the
roadside signs.
--President Smith received Service Providers List from KCFD Station #72. Sent to
Kern Valley Sun for use in soliciting ads in Living With Fire, and passed to Ed
Royce for incorporation into our website.
The next meeting will the May 19, 2011 Stakeholder's Meeting in Lake
Isabella. Agenda and details to be distributed shortly.
KERN RIVER VALLEY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
GRANT STATUS UPDATE
April 14, 2011
2010 Bodfish III Fuel Reduction Project- Project status is the same as
last month; one narrow strip of brush is left to be cut near the toe of the
slope. Seventy-five to 100 brush piles remain to be burned. Again, if you get a
chance to visit the project, it is visible from the road and looks great. We
have 3 Chipper Day Events remaining on this project.
The 6th Quarter Accomplishment Report is due to CFSC on April 30th. Please
continue to keep track of your "Match--hours and mileage for the Quarterly
Accomplishment Report.
2010 Burma Interagency Extension Project- Status is the same as last
month; remaining work is the 6 acre Rogers Road maintenance section. We have 2
Chipper Day Events to complete on this project.
The 6th Quarter Accomplishment Report is due to CFSC April 30th. Again,
continue to keep track of your "Match--meeting hours and mileage as they
will be applied to the 2011 projects.
2011 Lake Isabella Project- The Archaeology Report was approved by BLM
and we received clearance from CFSC to begin the project. Cathy has put us in
for the first quarterly payment, and the initial $5,000 allocation should be
posted soon.
The Quarterly Reporting period for the 2011 projects ends April 30th and is
due May 30th.
2011 Mountain Shadows Project- Project is the same status as Lake Isabella's;
we have approval to begin project work, and the payment schedule has been
initiated.
CFSC News/Update- Latest information regarding 2012 Grants is the
Workshops are posted on-line, and Ventura may be our closest Workshop. It will
be held on April 26th (Clovis on 4/14 and Temecula 4/21).The Application
deadline is June 1st.
Cathy Brooke is planning a site-visit to our Kern Co. projects. A tentative
agenda will be out soon.
KRVFSC made the CFSC News this month with its first Chipper Day of the season
at Walker Pass. Good job Don and Lloyd!!
Patrick G. Pontes
Kern River Valley FSC, Grant Administrator
