PUC Partners with Napa FireWise to Implement Fire Mitigation in Angwin

On the brisk morning of Thursday, May 15, Pacific Union College staff and community members collaborated with Napa FireWise, CAL FIRE, and the Prescribed Burn Associations of Napa, Yolo, and Solano counties in conducting a prescribed burn in the beloved PUC forest.

A year in the making and waiting, the weather was conducive to conducting this planned forest fire in contribution to a CAL FIRE Forest Health Project, promoting fire resilience and a more balanced forest ecosystem.

Napa FireWise and CAL FIRE personnel were present at the site for weeks as they set up burn lines and hoses and conducted other site prep. Weather, fuel, and topography had to be monitored and measured as unmodifiable environmental factors before performing such a significant project.

To preserve the forest as a hotspot of diversity located on the Howell Mountain ridgeline, PUC began fire resiliency work in 2019 when it established a ridgeline fuel break that protects against wildfires coming in from the east through Pope Valley, a vulnerable path due to the tendency of fires to climb up slopes.

Peter Lecourt, owner and forester of North Bay Forestry and former PUC forest manager, maintains important relationships with organizations like the Napa Communities FireWise Foundation, whose primary goal is hazardous fuel reduction, especially in the historically forest-dense region where Angwin sits.

“Our ecosystems are so overgrown that when a forest burns, it burns really hot, affecting the communities surrounding it, so we need to be restoring our forest to where they are less dense and more resilient and adaptive against wildfires,” Lecourt stated.

After being awarded the $5 million Forest Health Grant from CAL FIRE in 2022, Napa FireWise has continued to move forward with projects funded by the county and other entities, making historical and rewarding investments for the future of community members in Angwin and PUC.

Because PUC is the largest landowner in Angwin, fruitful partnerships with Napa FireWise ensure safety at-large by pairing resources to protect the land and community.

PUC has been actively involved in fire safety and mitigation-based projects since early 2019, before the infamous Glass Fire in 2020, underlining the importance of forest health maintenance. This effort aims to not only prepare the forest to be more resilient, but also to cleanse it from pest, disease, and other elements detrimental to forest health.

“One of the ways that we are impacting the community around us is that the PUC forest is a demonstration forest, so we are using our land to show everybody what steps need to be taken in order to protect the safety of our forest and town,” Lecourt said.

“We are providing a shining beacon of light as an example to everybody around us, and a lot of people are taking notes about what we are doing as we continue on the momentum we built.”