A $1 million State Coastal Conservancy grant will fund a 45-acre fire mitigation project in Quarry Park, El Granada, which is classified by Cal Fire as a “Very High Fire Severity Zone,” County officials said.
“The park’s 314 acres is covered by dense growth of non-native eucalyptus on steep slopes adjacent to the community of El Granada,” the County said.
In 2019, about 100 acres of fuel reduction were conducted in the park as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 35-High Priority Project list to protect vulnerable populations from wildfires.
Project activity at Quarry Park is set to begin as soon as August. Contractors will “reduce or eradicate overgrown vegetation along fire roads and remove hazardous trees to create additional shaded fuel breaks that serve as defensible landscape,” officials said.
“The Coastal Conservancy grant and the strong partnership we have with the RCD means we can get this critical work done now,” said Nicholas Calderon, San Mateo County Parks Director, in a statement.
San Mateo County Parks has targeted 32 wildfire fuel reduction projects in its Five-Year Wildfire Fuel Management Program, nine of which are now funded for this year. The department manages 24 parks and over 16,000 acres of recreational land in the County.
Photo courtesy of the San Mateo County Parks Department
