Fuel Breaks

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One approach to managing wildland fires is to use fuel breaks in strategic locations, such as along ridge lines or around communities. The concept behind fuel breaks is to provide a defensible location for use by firefighting crews, or to reduce the fire intensity in the Wildland Urban Interface. Sausalito and Mill Valley are identifying potential fuel breaks and will be working towards this goal. Annual maintenance will be performed on an established fuel breaks created.

Cypress Ridge Open Space

What is a shaded fuel break?

A forest management strategy to mitigate wildfire threat in areas where natural fire regimes have been suppressed, leading to a dangerous buildup of combustible vegetation.

Construction involves selectively thinning and removing more flammable understory vegetation while leaving the majority of larger, more fire tolerant tree species in place.

Objective:

Reduce duration and intensity, fuel ignitability, and wildfire spreading from the surface to canopy.
Can reduce fire intensity by the elimination of ladder fuels.
- Ladder fuels, small trees and brush removed.

Shaded fuel break example #1

Shaded fuel break example #2