Happy Camp Fire Safe Council

 

 

The town of Happy Camp and most of Siskiyou County is located in an area were fire is a way of life. Wildfire is, and always has been, as much an element of nature as weather, soils, minerals, plants, animals, and water.

As long as there have been forests, prairies, and rangelands, they have periodically burned. Indeed, some natural landscapes depend on occasional fire to maintain a healthy existence. Fire, in its place, can replenish soil nutrients, remove dead and dying vegetation, and create the conditions for healthy regrowth. Some plants even require fire for seed propagation.

Fire can be destructive as well, particularly where property and life are concerned, and in the past 100 years we have tended to see it only in this role, as a foe. During the past 60 years we have aggressively battled to suppress all wildland fires. We have developed the equipment. techniques, and tactics to be highly successful in this battle.

Still, as regular as the seasons, fires continue to occurr. Although we have achieved remarkable success in keeping most fires small, some will always escape our best efforts. In the absence of any change in our development, building and landscaping practices, these escaped fires will continually lead to devastating losses of lives, homes, and other properties. As the population grows and our communities expand farther and farther into wildland areas, this situation may only grow worse.

However- we have a choice! We can continue to accept serious losses, or we can adapt to living in these wildland fire environments. Reducing these losses is possible. There is no need for lives or homes to be lost. We can live with wildland fire while protecting our. lives, homes and natural areas by keeping ourselves fire safe.

The purpose of the Happy Camp Fire Safe Council is to protect and preserve the natural and manmade resources around the town of Happy Camp, through cooperation, sound ecological practices, education, and mobilization of local citizens to keep and maintain our homes, neighborhoods, and community fire safe.

Working together, we believe we can develop and implement prevention, suppression, and vegetation controls in strategic areas of our community that will mitigate the negative effects of wildfire on our lives, homes, and property. Thus avoiding the negative social and economic effects of uncontrolled wildfire to this community.

Proposed Fuels Reduction Program

Fire is a fact of California life. But for those of U$ who live, work and recreate in California's tire dependent wild lands, fire can be a source of tear and a significant drain on the public and private cost of living.

Whether it's the governmental costs of preventing or combating wildfires, or the private cost of insurance, fire-safe building standards, or, occasionally and tragically, the cost of rebuilding a life devastated by fire, none of us goes untouched.

The town of Happy Camp has formed the Happy Camp Fire Safe Council to deal with fire as a fact of life. Happy Camp Fire Safe Council, or HCFSC, is a. coalition of public and private sector Organizations that share a common vested interest in "wildfire prevention and loss mitigation". The Council's goal is to preserve California's natural and manmade resources by mobilizing the public to make their homes, neighborhoods and communities fire safe.

So far, HCFSC has held two public meetings to help assess and prioritize the need for actions to help make our community fire safe.

Our upcoming fire safe project will be to clear brush from behind the elementary school, behind the high school, at River Park, and the area between Parry's market and the Karuk housing development. We will expect 12 -20 people to work together to clear and thin brush at these locations. Our goal is to protect these areas from the possibility of a crown fire jumping across and igniting these critical areas in town.

This is especially vital because of the increasing spread of population into wild land areas where homes and businesses are at substantially greater risk, and where the resources needed to safeguard them are far greater and more costly.

Sincerely,

Bob Schmalzbach
President
Happy Camp Fire Safe Council
schmalzbach@hotmail.com