Forest Care Program
A program that unfortunately came to an end in the fall of 2013 because funding was no longer available. The program was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry.
Although the program is no longer active, please take a moment to read this section to get better understanding of the philosophy behind Forest Care and forest restoration in community settings. It will help you make the right decisions for your property.
WHY FOREST CARE?
Due to fire-suppression policies that have been in place since the middle of the last century our forest has become severely dense and overgrown, making forest thinning according to Forest Care standard a necessity. With the assistance of professional Cal Fire foresters, Forest Care sets the standard for thinning of trees on your property to naturally healthy levels. This includes the removal of low undergrowth that can act as a ladder for flames, thus preventing fire from climbing into the forest canopy, and spacing trees so they have access to vital nutrients, sunlight and room to grow into beautiful strong trees.
Forest Care greatly reduces the chance a wildfire will have catastrophic impact on the community by reducing the vegetation fuel load that causes all destructive high intensity fires. High intensity fires generate tremendous heat, especially when wind driven. They climb into the crowns of trees to become treacherous crown fires that move at a great rate of speed and shower the area with millions of burning embers and firebrands.
A healthy beautiful forest is something we all want. Those of us living in the mountain communities of the San Bernardino National Forest have a special responsibility to help the forest achieve a healthy balance that will sustain our natural resources and our lifestyle for generations to come.
Forest Care helps owners of forested property thin their trees, bringing the forest back to healthy densities. If you have property smaller than 20 acres that is densely forested, with some trees less than 10 feet apart, you will most likely qualify for Forest Care.
Forest Care also helps create Defensible Space around a house or structure. This important under S.B. County Ordinance 23.0304 mandating Hazardous Fuel Abatement and California Public Resource Code 4291. Having Defensible Space is important to protect your home and most fire insurance companies now require at least code compliance before issuing or renewing a policy.
Don't forget to take a look at the Defensible Space Picture Gallery in this section for illustrative examples.
Due to fire-suppression policies that have been in place since the middle of the last century our forest has become severely dense and overgrown, making forest thinning according to Forest Care standard a necessity. With the assistance of professional Cal Fire foresters, Forest Care sets the standard for thinning of trees on your property to naturally healthy levels. This includes the removal of low undergrowth that can act as a ladder for flames, thus preventing fire from climbing into the forest canopy, and spacing trees so they have access to vital nutrients, sunlight and room to grow into beautiful strong trees.
Forest Care greatly reduces the chance a wildfire will have catastrophic impact on the community by reducing the vegetation fuel load that causes all destructive high intensity fires. High intensity fires generate tremendous heat, especially when wind driven. They climb into the crowns of trees to become treacherous crown fires that move at a great rate of speed and shower the area with millions of burning embers and firebrands.
A healthy beautiful forest is something we all want. Those of us living in the mountain communities of the San Bernardino National Forest have a special responsibility to help the forest achieve a healthy balance that will sustain our natural resources and our lifestyle for generations to come.
Forest Care helps owners of forested property thin their trees, bringing the forest back to healthy densities. If you have property smaller than 20 acres that is densely forested, with some trees less than 10 feet apart, you will most likely qualify for Forest Care.
Forest Care also helps create Defensible Space around a house or structure. This important under S.B. County Ordinance 23.0304 mandating Hazardous Fuel Abatement and California Public Resource Code 4291. Having Defensible Space is important to protect your home and most fire insurance companies now require at least code compliance before issuing or renewing a policy.
Don't forget to take a look at the Defensible Space Picture Gallery in this section for illustrative examples.