Keith Way Fuel Break Back to Community Wildfire Protection Projects 
Keith Way Fuel BreakCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Marin County Fire Department / Inverness Fire Protection District FUNDING PROVIDED: $15,000 (FY 2002) OBJECTIVE: To improve fire safety and readiness in the Marin County communities adjacent to NPS lands by creating an effective fuel buffer along Keith Way, and improving the overall safety of the access for emergency vehicles. DESCRIPTION: A reduced fuel zone (shaded fuel break) of 3 to 9 meters (10 to 30 feet) in width would be created along both sides of Keith Way for the identified 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles). Its purpose would be to slow the advance of a wildland fire and reduce a fire's intensity to allow safer deployment of personnel and equipment, access to the event, and perhaps direct attack. Inverness is an unincorporated village (6.5 sq km / 2.5 sq. mi.) located in the rural western portion of Marin County along the Inverness Ridge on the west side of Tomales Bay. The entire community epitomizes the concept of a wildland-urban interface. The area is heavily forested, roads are narrow, there are steep hillsides and canyons, and many of the residences (over a third) are vacation homes that are not occupied on a fulltime basis. Immediately to the west of the town is the Point Reyes National Seashore; between the Seashore boundary and the developed portion of the town are some 200-240 hectares (500-600 acres) of densely forested watershed lands. Much of this acreage is steep, very difficult to access, and characterized by decades of accumulation of forest debris. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 24 List of Projects | Top of Page Inverness Chipper DaysCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Volunteer Fire Department FUNDING PROVIDED: $12,000 (FY 2002) OBJECTIVE: Coordinate and organize chipper days in Inverness for three years. DESCRIPTION: This project would fund a portion of the costs of a Chipper Day program ($4,000/year) and defensible space maintenance in Inverness. Creating defensible space around dwellings and structures generates large amounts of woody debris, which need to be disposed of in an environmentally sound way. Providing a Chipper Day program encourages homeowners to conduct their own clearing of hazardous wildland fuels around their houses by providing a means to dispose of the debris that they generate. The unincorporated village of Inverness occupies the northern half of the Inverness Ridge community, which is an enclave within the Point Reyes National Seashore. Inverness epitomizes the concept of wildland-urban interface, with dense forests, narrow roads, steep hillsides and canyons and many vacation homes occupied only on a part-time basis. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 29 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Inverness Public Utility District Chipping ProgramCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Volunteer Fire Department / Inverness Public Utility District FUNDING PROVIDED: $20,000 (FY 2001) OBJECTIVE: Reduce hazardous fuels along roadsides. DESCRIPTION: This project provides a chipper to the Inverness Public Utility District for the purpose of processing downed trees and branches which accumulate as a result of storms and fireroad maintenance. The community of Inverness includes 165 homes and is completely surrounded by parklands. High visitation in this heavily forested area creates high ignition potential from automobiles and other human activity. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 9 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Inverness Roadside Fuel TreatmentsCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Volunteer Fire Department / Inverness Public Utility District FUNDING PROVIDED: $50,000 (FY 2003) OBJECTIVE: Reduce fuels and improve emergency access. DESCRIPTION: Heavy vegetation occurs along the lengths of Heather Lane, Trossach and Kenneth Way, Sterling Way, Upper and Lower Rannoch, Woodhaven, Upper Highland, Glen Way, Miwok, and Stockstill. This vegetation will be cleared to a minimum of 3 meters (10 feet) from the road surface edge on both sides to create safe passage for both residents and fire personnel and equipment. The unincorporated village of Inverness occupies the northern half of the Inverness Ridge community, which is an enclave within the Point Reyes National Seashore. Inverness epitomizes the concept of wildland-urban interface, with dense forests, narrow roads, steep hillsides and canyons and many vacation homes occupied only on a part-time basis. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 43 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Seahaven Shaded Fuel BreakCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay State Park FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Volunteer Fire Department FUNDING PROVIDED: $83,000 (FY 2001), $76,000 (FY 2002) OBJECTIVE: Plan and implement a shaded fuel break to create defensible space. DESCRIPTION: This project will plan and implement a shaded fuel break to provide a buffer zone that will moderate fire intensity and rate of spread along the border between Tomales Bay State Park and the Seahaven Neighborhood. Seahaven is a development in the town of Inverness consisting of 105 residences in a heavily forested area that interfaces park lands. The highest ignition risks are from visitor activity along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and at the Shell Beach parking lot. The Fiscal Year 2001 project involves two phases: planning ($10K) and implementation ($73K). The Fiscal Year 2002 project involves planning, environmental review, and implementation of a shaded fuel management zone in Seahaven. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 3, 18 & 27 List of Projects | Top of Page Seahaven Emergency Access & Fuel ReductionCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay State Park FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Public Utility District FUNDING PROVIDED: $24,000 (FY 2004) OBJECTIVE: Reduce fuels and improve emergency access. DESCRIPTION: This plan will create and maintain a minimum 3-meter (10-foot reduced vegetation fuel buffer along both sides of the roadway along 2.25 kilometers (1.4 miles) of Via de la Vista and Camino del Mar streets in the Seahaven area of Inverness. The treated area would encompass approximately 1.4 hectares (3.4 acres). Seahaven is a development in the town of Inverness consisting of 105 residences in a heavily forested area that interfaces park lands. The highest ignition risks are from visitor activity along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and at the Shell Beach parking lot. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 56 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Shallow Beach Area Hazardous Fuel ReductionCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Marin County Fire Department FUNDING PROVIDED: $60,000 (FY 2004) OBJECTIVE: To reduce the threat of a wildfire in the Shallow Beach area adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore boundary. DESCRIPTION: This plan will coordinate the development of an overall fire management program for Shallow Beach, remove ladder fuels along 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) of the emergency access road, remove hazardous trees, and increase defensible space around structures. Shallow Beach Association property borders on Tomales Bay and is surrounded by Tomales Bay State Park. The area contains both occupied and unoccupied single and multiple family dwellings. Twelve acres are developed with structures, docks and accessory structures, surrounded by 24 hectares (60 acres) of undeveloped property held in common. There are 10 leaseholds including 15 structures. The project area is served by narrow, single lane paved and dirt roads. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 53 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Shell Beach Wildfire ProtectionCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Marin County Fire Department / Inverness Fire Protection District FUNDING PROVIDED: $47,400 (FY 2002) OBJECTIVE: To improve fire safety and readiness in the Marin County communities adjacent to NPS lands by creating additional fire protection in the Shell Beach area of Inverness. DESCRIPTION: Additional fire protection in the Shell Beach Area of Inverness involves the installation of two fire hydrants along the boundary between the Seahaven residential neighborhood of Inverness and heavily forested parklands, one in a high-fire-risk visitor-serving parking lot. All the replacement and new main will be 6-inch (15-centimeter) PVC, capable of supporting fire hydrants. In addition, replace an existing blowoff standpipe with a standard fire hydrant, providing a significant improvement in our capability to protect four homes that are at high risk of a fire from within park lands. Inverness is an unincorporated village (6.5 sq km / 2.5 sq. mi.) located in the rural western portion of Marin County along the Inverness Ridge on the west side of Tomales Bay. The entire community epitomizes the concept of a wildland-urban interface. The area is heavily forested, roads are narrow, there are steep hillsides and canyons, and many of the residences (over a third) are vacation homes that are not occupied on a fulltime basis. Immediately to the west of the town is the Point Reyes National Seashore; between the Seashore boundary and the developed portion of the town are some 200-240 hectares (500-600 acres) of densely forested watershed lands. Much of this acreage is steep, very difficult to access, and characterized by decades of accumulation of forest debris. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 25 List of Projects | Top of Page 
Vision Road Fuel BufferCOMMUNITIES: Inverness INTERFACE: Point Reyes National Seashore FIRE DISTRICT: Inverness Volunteer Fire Department FUNDING PROVIDED: $46,000 (FY 2001), $10,842 (FY 2002) OBJECTIVE: Reduce fuels and improve emergency access. DESCRIPTION: A reduced fuel zone (shaded fuel break), 3 to 9 meters (10 to 30 feet) in width will be created along both sides of Vision Road over a distance of 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles). Its purpose is to slow the advance and reduce the intensity of a wildland fire, to allow safer deployment of personnel and equipment, and increase potential strategies for direct attack. Turnouts would be improved along this length to facilitate access for emergency responders and evacuation of residents. The fuel break will be maintained and improved through ongoing vegetation management for three years. NPS/FSM TASK AGREEMENT NO. 21, 29 & 39 |
Last updated: January 29, 2024