Wildfire – Prevention and Recovery

The Land Trust has been involved in fuels reduction efforts across Napa county for several years, including our involvement in the development of the Napa County Community Wildfire Protection Plan and our participation in the ongoing Napa County Pre-Fire Coordinating Group, including CAL FIRE, Napa County Fire, Napa Firewise, and local Fire Safe Councils, aimed at coordinating efforts to reduce the risk of wildfires county-wide.

In addition, on our own properties, the Land Trust has been actively pursuing related management efforts such as:
Controlled Burns

Conducting several controlled burns, working with CAL FIRE, to decrease fuel loads and restore habitat.

Completing a prescribed burn on Missimer Preserve in June 2021, Land Trust of Napa County hit what you might call a wildfire risk mitigation and habitat restoration jackpot.

Read more

Rotational Grazing
Carrying out a model rotational grazing project, using goats and sheep, on an ongoing basis since before the 2017 fires.

The effectiveness of this project for wildfire risk mitigation was tested in the LNU Lightning Complex fire of 2020, when a spot fire spread toward our property from a neighbor’s but was stopped by the lack of fuel right at the boundary of our grazed area.

Read more

Forest Thinning & Shaded Fuel Breaks
Completing forest thinning and shaded fuel breaks on our properties like our Linda Falls Preserve in 2021 and 2022.

The projects help reduce the chances of a high intensity crown fire that could threaten homes and neighborhoods nearby.

Read more – shaded fuel break

Read more – forest thinning project

More Wildfire – Prevention and Recovery stories

A Changed Landscape

Caring for Land Trust preserves after the 2020 wildfires.

Nature's Resilience Part II

Our latest post-fire photo update highlights some amazingly adaptive native plants.

Nature's Resilience

A post-fire photo update from Stewardship Program Manager Mike Palladini.

Rare fire poppy found amid Mt. George regrowth

Fire poppies grow from seeds that can lie dormant in the soil’s seed bank for many decades.
A completed section of Land Trust of Napa County’s Aetna Springs fuel break. Photo by Mike Palladini – Land Trust of Napa County.

Land Trust completes Aetna Springs fuel break project

Working with a Registered Professional Forester, LTNC created a plan with the goal of improving forest management and managing for resilience to wildfire and disease.

Post Fire Botanical Assessment on the Snell Peak Preserve Yields Valuable Information

In a 254-acre area comprised largely of one habitat type LTNC documented 16 special status plant species!

Support Our Work