Crews began work on the Green Valley Shaded Fuel break earlier this week. The Fuel Break is designed to reduce hazardous fuels and decrease the likelihood of wildfire spread into the community. It also serves as a control line for fire suppression, giving firefighters a fighting chance to defend the community in the event of a wildfire. 

“The fuel break is funded through a CAL FIRE Prevention grant,” said Rochelle Sherlock, President of the Green Valley Fire Safe Council and the person who wrote grant.

The shaded fuel break is a collaborative project between the Green Valley Fire Safe Council and the Cordelia Fire Protection District with other key partners. “We work closely with CAL FIRE and the City of Vallejo," Sherlock said.  The Vallejo Water Department provides water to unincorporated Green Valley residents and their property borders the west and north side where the fuel break will occur.

“The Vallejo Water Department is pleased and proud to join efforts with these outstanding community partners in efforts to help protect the community as well as the vital water infrastructure that serves this community," said Beth Schoenberger, Water Director for the City of Vallejo.

“Partnerships are key," said Dave Carpenter, Chief of the Cordelia Fire Protection District. “Working together has allowed us to accomplish things that we would never have been able to do alone." Chief Carpenter joined the Green Valley Fire Safe Council in 2019. “I attended the wildfire preparedness community event that Rochelle and CAL FIRE organized to launch the first fire safe council in the County," said Carpenter. “I knew this was something we needed to be a part of." The partnership has remained strong ever since.

The shaded fuel break was a key goal identified by the Green Valley Fire Safe Council as part of their Wildfire Risk Reduction Plan, enabling them to become a nationally recognized Fire Wise USA site. The Green Valley organization was the first in Solano County to obtain the Fire Wise designation.   

“Reducing fuels is the single most important step we can take to reduce wildfire risk," said Sherlock. “Our intention is to extend the shaded fuel break around the perimeter of Green Valley. The current CAL FIRE grant covers a portion of the overall project, identified as Phase 1. Sherlock is working on a grant proposal  for Phase 2 to extend the shaded fuel break around upper Green Valley and down the east side.

According to Chief Carpenter, the community must do their part by creating defensible space, hardening their homes, and taking active measures not to be the source of a fire.

“We applaud this collaborative project and the partners who came together to make it happen as they work to create fire resiliency for their community,” said CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Assistant Chief Mike Wink, who oversees the Unit’s Pre-Fire Division. “This shaded fuel break will help reduce fuel loading and create a community fuel break through a series of fuel reduction treatments.”

       Click on the link below to see the results of work completed in "before" and "after" photos:

IMAGE GALLERY