Pacific Southwest Region

Southern California Hazardous Fuels Rehabilitation and Restoration

Riverside County Mountain Area Safety Taskforce Steps Up to the Plate to Assist Property Owners with the Removal of Their Dead Trees

• Riverside County Mountain Area Safety Taskforce
• San Jacinto Mountain Communities

In an effort to reduce the risk of wildfire in the San Jacinto Mountains, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and Riverside County Fire Department (RVC) are leading a successful effort to help private property owners remove dead or dying trees on their property related to the Tree Mortality Emergency declared by Riverside County in 2002 and the Governor in 2003.

Once CDF foresters identify the trees, property owners are given information on two cost share assistance programs to remove them from around their homes or their neighbor's home. The first, the Riverside County Tree Removal Program, provides tree removal assistance through a county tree removal service contract. The second, the Riverside County Reimbursement Program gives the landowner the option of hiring a tree service contractor of their choice and then submitting for reimbursement for the work.

These cost-share programs require the property owner to pay a minimum of 25 percent of the cost for removing the trees. The federal grant fund pays the balance, up to 75 percent. Benefits to engaging landowners in paying part of the removal costs include learning more about forest health and wildland fire safety, and being actively engaged in solving the problem.

An estimated 90,000 trees are dead or dying in these areas. To date, more than 12,000 trees have been removed since the beginning of this emergency. Approximately 50 percent of the parcels in the communities of Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center, and Garner Valley have been surveyed for dead or dying trees. The MAST staff estimates that the problem will likely need a 3-5 year period to mitigate the fire risk to an acceptable level.

Cooperators for this effort include: USDA Forest Service, CA Office of Emergency Services, Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Idyllwild Fire Protection District, Southern California Edison, Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council and various state and county agencies. The federal grant funding comes from the Forest Service's Cooperative State Fire Assistance and Forest Health Protection programs.

Contact Information: Kevin Turner or Kathleen Edwards at (909) 659-3337. The CDF/RVC local office is located in the Mountain Resource Center, 25380 Franklin Drive, Idyllwild.

Success Stories

• Barton Flats
• Breaking Barriers
• Burn Area Restoration Projects
• Carveacre Community Protection
• Charlton Flats
• Crystal Lake
• Evacuation Route Clearing
• Forest Area Safety Taskforce
• Grant Successes
• June Aerial Flight Results
• Kuffel Canyon Road
• Laguna Mountain Community Protection
• Lake Arrowhead Log Storage Facility
• March Aerial Flight Results
• Mistletoe Eradication
• North Lake Arrowhead Fuels Reduction
• Seeds for Forest Renewal
• Skyline Fuels Reduction Project
• Student Conservation Association Partnership
• Take Pride in America

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