Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 06/04/2007 11:15 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 06/04/2007 11:23 PM
Expires: 01/01/2012 12:00 AM
Community is Invited to Fire Prevention Awareness Program
Sonora, CA…Fire Safe Council President Jerry Tannhauser today announced the Highway 108 FireSafe Council is inviting residents and homeowners in the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Rancheria area to meet and discuss fire protection....
emergency preparedness, and fire prevention measures needed to protect life, property, and resources from wildland fires. The subject area consists of public, tribal, and private land accessed by Tuolumne Road North.
The open public meeting is scheduled to be held at the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Rancheria Tribal Administrative Hall, located at 19595 Mi Wu Street, Tuolumne Rancheria (accessed via Tuolumne Road North, across from Black Oak Casino), at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, June 7, 2007. The purpose of the meeting is to provide tribal members, private landowners, and local fire agency officials the opportunity to discuss and consider a strategic planning link between local fire protection, emergency access, and community fire prevention measures that support firefighting efforts.
The meeting will feature a program on traditional Native American uses of fire, including early efforts by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk to improve habitat for game, manage forest vegetation, encourage growth of useful native plants, and use fire as a tool in traditionally beneficial ways. Additionally, the presentation will cover current Me-Wuk tribal accomplishments in land management, flammable fuels reduction, and fire prevention and preparedness. The Me-Wuk Tribal Fire Department will be on hand to discuss community fire awareness, defensible space accomplishments, coordinated multi-agency fuel break construction and management of newly acquired Tribal lands, and showcase emergency response equipment.
During the second half of the meeting, the FireSafe Council will listen and discuss ideas and comments from residents in the communities of the Tuolumne Rancheria, Ponderosa Hills, Tuolumne City, and surrounding areas. The discussion is intended to help fire agencies better identify the existing wildland fire danger present on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (FS), Tribal lands administered by the Tuolumne Me-Wuk, and adjacent private property located within the County and State Responsibility Area protected by the Tuolumne County Fire Department and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The general area surrounding the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Rancheria consists of private land located in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), with portions bordering tribal, BLM, and FS land. The area is considered a priority concern due to the level of flammable vegetation, adjacent homes, and the potential threat to life, property, and other values at risk due to large and damaging wildlfires. Me-Wuk Tribal members and public are asked to help agency officials identify priority areas and opportunities for strategic fuel reduction projects, generally located on Tribal and private lands adjacent to federally administered lands and surrounding communities.
The Highway 108 FireSafe Council works with the Tuolumne County Fire Department, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, USDA Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Columbia Fire Protection District, Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal Fire Department, Tuolumne City Fire Protection District, Sonora City Fire Department, local fire districts, and local communities to develop and implement strategic community wildfire protection plans.
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