Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Woodside Fire Protection District step up wildfire preparedness

“If a fire were to occur, it would create a place where the fire could be slowed or stopped and prevent it from going up into the tree canopy,” Midpen spokesperson Leigh Ann Gessner said. “It creates, basically, a place where firefighters can slow or stop a fire.”

The Woodside Fire Protection District, which serves Portola Valley, Woodside and areas of unincorporated San Mateo County, has mitigation requirements in place for all landowners in its district, including commercial, open space and residential properties, Division Chief and Fire Marshall Kimberly Giuliacci said.

The district, which includes large swaths of open land, does wildland interface and coordinates with agencies like Midpen for that fire readiness work, Fire Chief Eric Zabali said. That largely encompasses the removal of dead and dying vegetation and hazardous, fuel-keeping grasses, Giuliacci said, a standard that is applied to all properties.

Although the accumulation of drier vegetation, combined with a lack of rain, can make summer months particularly threat-heavy, the department has been impressing upon its residents that fire season is now 365 days a year.

“It’s no different than any other year. We’re never not worried,” Giuliacci said. “Our approach is still the same.”

Because the uses of Midpen land are so regulated — allowing visitors for horseback riding, hiking and biking — it’s not typical to see fires start on property, Gessner said. Staff are trained to respond to fires on nearby roads, however, and worked alongside fire agencies during the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire.

Midpen did see lightning strikes on some parts of its property during that fire, which affected parts of San Mateo County. Staff were able to tamp those fires down and move on to assist firefighters on other parts of the Skyline ridgeline, Gessner said.

Midpen staff also have access to patrol trucks with water pumpers and firefighting tools, according to a press release from the agency. Those tools were used during the CZU Lightning Complex fire and remain accessible to staff throughout the duration of fire season.

The CZU Lightning Complex fire also pushed the Woodside Fire Protection District to develop an ordinance that regulates defensible space by clearing fire-dangerous vegetation, Giuliacci said. Taking that action not only protects the property but also allows firefighters space to be able to safely fight fires.

“We don’t know when another fire like that could happen, and that hit so close to home. It just puts the extra reminder to residents — this is going to be an every day, ongoing work,” she said.

As fire seasons get longer and potentially more deadly in California, Midpen is taking proactive steps to protect its open space against the threat, Gessner said. That includes extra precautions during high fire danger days and closing off certain areas of its preserves when necessary.

“We have protocols they put in place. Certain areas are closed to public access. We make sure that people working in the preserves aren’t working in a way that could spark fires,” she said. “So we definitely kind of keep our finger on the pulse of the potential fire severity.”

In general, the agency is deploying what Gessner termed ecologically sensitive vegetation management, which means pruning down non-native trees and leaving native species that have adapted to the fire environment. This style of management both helps protect the area during a potential fire and makes it more resilient to come back from one.

“We’re really looking through the lens of potential fires, but also through the lens of, ‘how can we make the environment healthier here,’ and that’s where that resilience word comes in,” Gessner said. “How can we make the environment here healthier and able to withstand and come back from any potential fires?”

The Woodside Fire Protection District is taking steps beyond vegetation management, Giuliacci said, largely in the form of getting residents ready to evacuate. Those within the district can also participate in its Community Emergency Response Team and can find those resources at wpv-ready.org.