THE SUMMER OF FIRE
SUMMARY
Shasta County is known for its beautiful lush forests and its
trout, steelhead, and salmon laden rivers. Visitors come from
all over the world to partake in the Shasta County experience,
and many stay. The population of Shasta County in 1930 was
14,000 and today the population is 180,000. The growth has
slowed substantially in the last decade but the boom growth
years between 1930 and 2010 have placed substantial stress
on the county’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). New housing projects have expanded well into our forest areas, boasting green, pristine surroundings to attract new home buyers.
During most of the boom era, and continuing today, our previously effective forestry practices have gone by the wayside,
placing our “green and pristine” wildlands in grave peril, creating the conditions for catastrophes such as the 2018 Carr
Fire.
Between July 23, 2018 and August 30, 2018 Shasta County experienced the Carr Fire, the seventh most destructive wildfire in California wildfire history. There were 229,651 acres reduced
to snags and ash; 1,604 structures, including homes were destroyed, while 277 others were damaged and sadly eight lives were lost. Over 38,000 people were evacuated for up to 10 days, and
many of those who lost everything are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.
The Shasta County area is prone to wildfires. There have been five significant fire incidents, as
well as the countless smaller fires that have occurred since 1992 alone, each of which have ravaged the county. A sustained effort in the areas of fire fuel management and defensible space is
required to mitigate or eliminate the threat of future fires. Any success our government agencies
will have depends on all Shasta County citizens giving their full support and participation.
The 2019-20 Shasta County Grand Jury recognized the issue and began an investigation of wildfires in the county. This Grand Jury recognizes that the responsibility for change in Shasta County is required with the assistance of our local cities and county government, including our citizens, to ensure that the entire county follows through and promotes a long awaited and needed
shift from suppression to prevention.
BACKGROUND
Shasta County has experienced many wildfires; the Carr Fire of 2018 being the seventh most
devastating fire in California history. Over $1.5 Billion in insured damages were paid out and
$158.7 million taxpayer dollars in suppression costs were incurred.
In August of 1992 the Fountain Fire raged through Round Mountain and Montgomery Creek
torching 63,960 acres, 654 structures, and mercifully took no lives. In October 1999 the Jones
Valley Fire incinerated 26,220 acres, 954 structures and claimed one life. The Clover Fire of
2013 destroyed 8,073 acres, 296 structures, claimed one life and seriously injured six people.
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 These fires, especially the magnitude of the Carr Fire, emphasize that a new thought process and
a continuing long-term plan for fire fuel management is required.
THE INGREDIENTS OF FIRE
As a simple chemical reaction, fire requires three major elements: oxygen, heat and fuel. Heat is
characteristic during Shasta County fire season; oxygen is everpresent; and fuel is variable
depending upon management practices.
Shasta County’s land management practices for the last 30 years have
allowed dangerous fuel buildup. This buildup has led to an excess of high
ignition rate fuels in our wildlands. Of course, the higher the ignition rate
of the fuels the more susceptible the forest is to catastrophic wildfire.
Many fires are started from accidental human activity which is
unpredictable. What can be mangaged is the fuel load and its contribution
to devestating fires.

weathePhoto courtesy of weather.com

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 Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

Photo courtesy of actionnews.com

Photo courtesy of dailycos.com

INVESTIGATION METHODOLOGY
In order to understand the total picture, i.e. who is doing what, where and when, it was necessary
for the investigating committee to research any entity that had anything to do with Fire Protection in Shasta County. The information was very important to the understanding of the problem.
The investigation committee of twelve was broken down into five specific investigation groups.
1) Federal Government (for informational purposes only), 2) State Government (for informational purposes only), 3) Shasta County Fire Departments, 4) City Fire Departments, and 5) Local
Districts and Agencies. The subject was broad and complex, so the committee focused on defen3

 sible space and fire fuel management as its main issues, and what is being done since the Carr
Fire. Groups 1 and 2 utilized web searches to obtain their information. Groups 3, 4 and 5, conducted interviews, site visits, and web searches combined.
The in-depth Defensible Space/Fire Fuel Management Investigation included:
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Fourteen interviews were conducted with individuals from the Shasta County Fire Department, Redding Fire Department, Anderson Fire Department, Shasta Lake City Fire
Department, Shasta Fire District, Igo/Ono Volunteer Fire Department, Redding Electrical
Utility and Redding Parks Department.
Each interviewee was straight forward, willing and forthcoming, with professional answers to all of our questions. This Jury, in all cases, was impressed with the dedication,
pride and commitment each interviewee had to their profession. Shasta County can be
assured that the task of fire suppression rests in extremely capable hands.

•

In-depth website studies of sources of information relied upon by Shasta County and local City and Districts, including US Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Intertribal Timber
Council, National Association of Foresters, National Weather Service, US Fire Administration (Homeland Security), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and
Office of Emergency Services (OES) were performed and documented.

•

Members of the investigation committee toured the ignition point of the Carr Fire, French
Gulch, the town of Keswick, Keswick Estates and several of the other areas of devastation.

•

Members of the investigation committee toured the 21-mile-long Highway 44 Shaded
Fuel Break and Timber Removal Project, funded as a result of the State’s February 22,
2019, “Community Wildfire Prevention Report.” They also toured the Swasey/Lower
Springs Road portion of the West Redding Project

•

Members of the investigation committee studied the local private timber companies and
learned that they are good stewards of our forests, and declined to interview them. The
private companies are outside the jurisdiction of the Grand Jury.

•

A member of the investigation committee attended a fire fuel management meeting for
the West Redding Project, on January 24, 2020, in Old Shasta.

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 DISCUSSION
WHAT THE JURY LEARNED
All of the research shows that past
forest management practice has been
the major cause of the build-up of
highly flammable and dangerous
fuels. Multiple factors that can occur
in our wildland areas cause tree populations to become denser; brush and
noxious weeds grow rampant; tree
limbs sag to the ground or break during snow storms; surface level fuels
such as leaves, pine needles and logging slash gather to unsafe thicknesses; and uncleared snags, downed
trunks and limb wood from previous
fires amass as well. The smaller the diameter of the fuel, the faster the fuel will ignite.
Scientists have warned that cyclically rising temperatures are creating ever decreasing humidity
levels and comparably increasing high temperatures. The fire experience, world-wide, is devastating, but here in Shasta County it means that we have sustained one of the longest, driest, stifling droughts in our history, and our fire season has increased by 75 days (two and one half
months).
DEFENSIBLE SPACE
Shasta County must reach its own conclusions and come to its own decisions regarding a solution to the destructiveness of wildfires within the county. SCFD records indicate that 80% of all
fires in Shasta County are caused by human activity. Smoking, cooking, careless equipment use,
camp fires, backfires, barbeques, electrical mishaps, heating, miscellaneous, undetermined and
arson all made the 2018 list of human-caused fires in Shasta County. Most of the fires happened
around or near homes and businesses, so naturally SCFD has directed its fire prevention efforts
and attention to structures.

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 A Defensible Space is an arrangement that all Shasta County fire departments have devised and
agreed that provides a greater chance of a structure’s survival against a wildfire, and correspondingly, forests have a greater chance of surviving “human activity” caused wildfires. Defensible
space, in Shasta County, applies to all structures regardless of ownership. Private and publicly
owned structures alike must adhere to defensible space requirements.
Zone 1 is defined as Lean, Clean and Green. In this zone the requirement is to remove all dead
plants, grass and weeds; remove dead and dry leaves and pine needles from the yard, roof and
rain gutters; and keep tree branches 10 feet away from a chimney and other trees.
Zone 2 is 100 feet of Reduced Fuel. Annual grasses must be disked or mowed down to a maximum height of four inches. Horizontal spacing between shrubs and trees must be created. (Shrub
spacing is twice the height of the shrub; tree spacing is 10 feet, branch tip to branch tip, on level
surfaces.)
Zone 3 (Not shown) is the area outside of Zone 2 which is called the Greenbelt. In this zone one
must remove all trees less than a soda-can in diameter, at chest height; remove all invasive weeds
and non-native trees and shrubs; remove and thin native vegetation; and mow annual weeds to
three to four inches or less in height.
Note: On October 22, 2019, Shasta County adopted a Defensible Space Ordinance (see Readyforwildfire.org/THELAW) that included two more, much needed, zones. The first zone is a fivefoot-wide strip directly adjacent to a structures foundation line that must be cleared of all flammables including bark and other groundcovers and flammable fence materials connecting to the
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 structure. The second zone provides for a mowed or disked, 15-foot-wide, strip along a fence line
that abuts or encroaches on a neighbor’s 100-foot reduced fuel zone.
Fire fuel management, as regards defensible space, includes ridding one’s property of all unnecessary flammable materials including junk, garbage, boxes, and pallets. Wood piles must have a
minimum clearance of 10 feet, down to bare mineral soil, in all directions. Wood piles may be
moved closer to structures during non-fire season, when the wood is needed. Dead or dying
woody surface materials and aerial materials must be removed. Loose surface litter consisting of
leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones and small branches must not exceed three inches in depth.
FIRE FUEL MANAGEMENT
Shasta County Fire Department (SCFD), located at 875 Cypress Ave. in Redding, has a wealth
of information and handouts available to all Shasta County homeowners. Their website contains
all the information one needs to create a defensible space around a home and out-structures.
The SCFD may be called, at 530-225-2418, to request a defensible space inspection of one’s
property or some other property one might feel is not in compliance with ordinance requirements.
Obviously not all land is privately owned in Shasta County. Federal government departments,
California state government agencies, three cities, local districts, and several lumber companies
own swatches of our landscape. Based on this investigation, it was determined that all property
owners/land managers bear the responsibility in keeping us safe from wildfire.
In cases of fire, the Federal Government is responsible for the Federal Response Areas (FRAs),
Cal Fire is responsible for the State Response Areas (SRAs) and Local City and District Fire Departments are responsible for the Local Response Areas (LRAs). In case of a wildfire disaster
such as the Carr Fire, all first responders come together under the Office of Emergency Services
(OES) and respond as a whole.
On February 22, 2019, the Governor’s Office issued the Community Wildfire Prevention and
Mitigation Report (CWPM). The State, with assistance from Cal OES, California National
Guard, California Government Operations, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, California Department of Finance, California Natural Resources Agency and 48 other state and local
agencies determined that there were 35 critical projects, statewide, that needed to be tackled immediately. Three of the 35 projects are in Shasta County; Highway 44 Shaded Fuel Break, West
Redding Fuel Reduction Project, and China Gulch Fuel Break, all with the projected completion
date of December 2019. The three projects are still ongoing, but should be completed by the beginning of the 2020 fire season.
The Highway 44 Shaded Fuel Break (SFB) Project, toured by this Grand Jury on October 15,
2019, was taken on by CDF and SCFD, with a combination of State funding through the Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program and income from the sale of merchantable
timber harvested within the project limits.

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 The project provides landings and shaded fuel breaks for fire suppression activity along a 21
mile stretch of Highway 44, through Shingletown, from Dersch Road to the Lassen National
Forest Boundary. A progress report (February 14, 2020) indicated 800 acres have been treated.
Spring vegetation treatment and some pile burning had yet to be completed as of March 21,
2020. The project was extremely well planned and executed by SCFD/CDF. The purpose of the
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 project is to protect Shingletown, Viola and Inwood, and provide safer evacuation routes during
wildfire events.
The administration of the West Redding Fuel Reduction Project was awarded by CALFire/Shasta
County Fire to the McConnell Foundation. This major project, designed to remove burned vegetation and hazardous trees that remain in the wake of the Carr Fire of 2018, will be completed
with funding from the State of California CWPM and grants. At a McConnell Foundation sponsored meeting in Old Shasta, January 24, 2020, it was learned that part of the project is in the
very early phases, with expectations of putting boots on the ground in April or May of 2020. The
higher priority portion of the project, namely Swasey and Lower Springs Roads, has progressed
with 145 acres treated to date (February 14, 2020). Remaining to be done is spring vegetation
treatment of weeds, brush, some chipping and pile burning. The project will ultimately protect
West Redding, Shasta, Victoria Highlands, Lower Springs, Rock Creek, and Keswick, with defensible space, fuel breaks and safer evacuation routes. McConnell is actively seeking FEMA
funding.
The China Gulch Fuel Reduction Project is located on a ridge south of Clear Creek, between
Highway 273 and Shasta County Landfill. The fuel break project will remove understory brush
and live oak and remove dead and damaged vegetation from previous fires. As of February 14,
2020, 450 acres have been treated from Bear Creek Road to Highway 273, with a planned spring
vegetation treatment and pile burning. The project is designed to protect Happy Valley, Redding,
Anderson and Igo.
On the heels of the Carr Fire, California enacted Senate Bill 901 (SB901) in September of 2018.
The bill requires utilities to prepare wildfire mitigation measures, by January 2020, where overhead power lines are located in high risk wildfire areas. The City of Redding and Redding Electrical Utility (REU) reacted by setting aside 8 million dollars, over the next four years, for the
Fire Fuel Management work. Details of the initiative can be found in REU’s 2019 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which was adopted by the Redding City Council on December 3, 2019.
In 2018, the City of Anderson enacted Ordinance 2018-01, Exterior Hazard Abatement Program,
which addresses the minimum abatement standards. The ordinance deals mostly with a 100-foot
defensible space and fire fuel management on private property and demanding similar requirements as described above in the defensible space narrative. Additionally, five acre and larger
properties are required to have a series of fire breaks at designated locations, 15 to 60 feet in
width, disked or kept mowed at a height of three inches or less. Anderson has coined itself a
“Fire-wise Community”, and is actively making residents more fire aware.
The City of Anderson Fire Department maintains an unverified list of contractors, for the convenience of their citizens, which can be found on their city website. It is worth noting that only
the City of Anderson was found to offer assistance to physically and financially limited citizens
(“at-risk”) for defensible space cleanup. No other entity in Shasta County is known to offer assistance to those who cannot comply with defensible space regulations.
Shasta Lake City (SLC) has limited FFM programs according to the SLC fire department. Most
of what they do is handled by the Fire Prevention Officer (FPO) who began February 3, 2020.
Compliance by the citizens has been hit and miss. SLC encourages its citizens to use the Cal Fire
recommendations to replant fire resistant vegetation on areas of their property they have cleared.
SLC has not developed a 2019-2020 FFM plan. They depended on the Animal Regulation Officer to determine the work that needed to be done.
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 Currently, this responsibility can be handled by the new FPO who can work with home owners
directly. SLC plans to adopt the Fire Mitigation Plan implemented by the Burney Fire District as
its model. The funds collected from fines for violations would go directly to the SLC fire district,
not the city. The fire ordinances cover everyone in Shasta Lake City, home owners and businesses alike. The compliance begins with a letter to a property owner citing the violation(s). If there
is no satisfactory response from the property owner by the fourth contact, fines and/or liens will
be levied through the assessor’s office in order to get clean-up fees paid through taxes. SLC currently does not have an assistance program to help citizens who are not able to clear their property because of physical or financial limitations. They hope to develop a plan similar to REU
through their city power company to help in this area.
This Grand Jury learned that twelve fire districts and nineteen volunteer fire units do not participate in defensible space and fire fuel management projects. The paid on-call volunteer fire units
would like to participate in the off-fire-season work, but are unable due to current funding and
training limitations.
This Grand Jury has determined that Shasta County and City Government agencies know and
understand what must be accomplished in order to ensure that another catastrophic fire will not
occur. This Grand Jury further concludes that the property owners of Shasta County need to be
held more accountable to bring their properties into compliance. To those ends, this Grand Jury
has formulated a broad series of Recommendations aimed at planning, executing, and reporting
to the public on a regular basis for at least the foreseeable future.
FINDINGS
F1. Fire fuel management for the prevention of wildfires in Shasta County has not been a top
priority for far too long, due to lack of funding, and limited manpower leading to a higher
risk for the well-being of Shasta County.
F2. Fire Fuel management is an ongoing process that requires maintenance of previously completed projects so regrowth remains manageable.
F3. Shasta County Fire Department is unable to thoroughly identify defensible space and fire
fuel management infractions due to understaffing. Absentee landowners and noncomplying landowners stretch the limited law enforcement officers’ resources.
F4. A structure in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) has an improved chance of withstanding, or not igniting a wildfire when defensible space requirements are practiced.
F5. There are elderly, disabled and other at-risk people living in the WUI who need physical or
financial assistance to achieve a proper defensible space and decrease their personal risk as
well as risk to their neighbors.
F6. Some members of the public may be misinformed from time to time by the media and social media about fire fuel management and defensible space requirements, leading to confusion resulting in a lack of compliance and support.

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 F7. There are fewer volunteer organizations available, than in previous years, to assist the “atrisk” community with defensible space maintenance, making that community more vulnerable.
F8. Inmate fire crew reduction due to AB109 and the inability to use off-season volunteer firefighters, due to their limited fire fuel management training, has resulted in a lack of manpower available for fire fuel management projects.
RECOMMENDATIONS
R1.

By November 1, 2020, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors (BOS) shall direct the
Shasta County Fire Department (SCFD) to develop an annually prioritized Fire Fuel
Management (FFM) Plan listing the top FFM projects necessary to significantly reduce
the expectation of another catastrophic fire.

R2.

No later than December 31, 2020, the SCFD shall report progress of the FFM projects to
the Shasta County BOS, and every quarter thereafter.

R3.

After receiving a report from SCFD, the BOS shall make the report public through its
normal reporting process, and on their website, prior to the next scheduled board meeting.

R4.

By November 1, 2020, the BOS shall direct the SCFD to report monthly on the progress
of the funding efforts and the project completions. Funding shall be developed through
reprioritizing existing work plans, cost allotments and grants.

R5.

By November 1, 2020, the three incorporated city councils within Shasta County shall
direct their respective fire departments to develop an annually prioritized Fire Fuel Management (FFM) Plan listing the top FFM projects necessary to significantly reduce the
potential of another catastrophic fire.

R6.

By December 31, 2020, the three city fire departments in Shasta County shall report on
the progress of the FFM priority projects to their respective city councils, and every quarter thereafter.

R7.

After receiving a progress report the city councils shall make the reports public through
their normal reporting process, on their respective websites and social media platforms,
prior to the next scheduled council meeting.

R8.

By November 1, 2020, each city council shall direct their respective fire departments to
report monthly on the progress of the funding efforts and the project completions. Funding shall be developed through reprioritizing existing work plans, cost allotments and
grants.

R9.

By November 1, 2020, the BOS shall direct the Shasta County Fire Department to include ongoing “in-perpetuity” maintenance of fire fuel management projects in the quarterly report.

R10.

Beginning fiscal year 2021, the BOS shall provide funding for maintenance to include
spring vegetation treatment, limbing and other operations deemed necessary by County
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 Fire. Funding for maintenance to be provided from sources such as assessment fees and
defensible space non-compliance fines.
R11.

The BOS shall identify other agencies and identify funding sources, such as grants, to further assist the at-risk community to maintain defensible space for their residences.

R12.

Beginning fiscal year 2021, the Shasta County Fire Department. shall look into training
and utilizing off-season volunteer fire department personnel for the purpose of Defensible
Space Ordinance Enforcement Inspector activities. This can be funded through existing
grants.

R13.

By November 1, 2020, the BOS shall consider amending their October 22, 2019, Defensible Space Ordinance to provide more compliance incentives through steeper fines, faster legal action, and property liens, which will be addressed and assessed in a timely manner.

R14.

By December 31, 2020, the SCFD shall prepare and initiate a comprehensive public education process to increase awareness of fire prevention, defensible space and fire fuel
management. The BOS shall make the public aware of the positive effects of the Defensible Space Ordinance. The BOS can utilize social media platforms, mass media and their
existing website to accomplish this task.

R15.

Beginning with the 2021 Spring Quarter and one week each year for ten years thereafter,
in order to ease costs to private land owners, the City Councils of Redding, Anderson and
Shasta Lake City, along with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, shall implement an
“Amnesty Day” plan to permit ‘no-or-low cost’ dumping of defensible space waste materials at each landfill located within each entity’s jurisdiction.

REQUIRED RESPONSES
Pursuant to Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05, this Grand Jury requests responses to the Recommendations as listed below:
From the following governing bodies within 90 days:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Shasta County Board of Supervisors: R1, R3, R4, R9, R10, R11, R13, R15
Shasta County Fire Department: R1, R2, R9, R12, R14
Redding City Council: R5, R7, R8, R15
Redding Fire Department: R5, R6, R8
Anderson City Council: R5, R7, R8, R15
Anderson Fire Department: R5, R6, R8
Shasta Lake City Council: R5, R7, R8, R15
Shasta Lake City Fire Department: R5, R6, R8

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 Reports issued by This Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code section
929 requires that reports of this Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading
to the identity of any person who provides information to this Grand Jury.
ACRONYMS
APS- Adult Protective Services
AB109- California Assembly Bill 109
AFD- Anderson Fire Department
BOS- Board of Supervisors
Cal Fire- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (also referred to as CDF)
CDF- Commonly used acronym for Cal Fire
CEQA- California Environmental Quality Act
COA- City of Anderson
COR- City of Redding
CWPM- Community Wildfire Protection and Mitigation Report
DS- Defensible Space
FEMA- Federal Emergency Management Agency
FFM- Fire Fuel Management
FRA- Federal Response Area
FPO- Fire Prevention Officer
HHSA- Health and Human Services Agency
IHSS- In Home Support Services
LRA- Local Response Area
OES- Office of Emergency Services
REU- Redding Electric Utility
RFD- Redding Fire Department
SB901- California Legislature State Bill 901
SCFD- Shasta County Fire Department
SFB- Shaded Fuel Break
SLC- Shasta Lake City
SLCFD- Shasta Lake City Fire Department
SRA- State Response Area
WUI- Wildland-Urban Interface

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 GLOSSARY
CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY BILL 109 (AB109): Established the California Public Safety
Realignment Act of 2011 which allows for current non-violent, non-serious, and nonsex offenders to be supervised at the local County level after release from prison.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA): is a California statute passed in
1970 to institute a statewide policy of environmental protection.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE STATE BILL 901 (SB901): State Bill 901 addresses a number
of wildfire related items relating to public utilities.
DEFENSIBLE SPACE (DS): The buffer created between a building and the grass, trees, shrubs
or any wildland area that surrounds it.
FIRE FUEL MANAGEMENT(FFM): Hazardous fuel reduction generally requiring the reduction of surface and ladder fuels.
SHADED FUEL BREAK- Selective reduction, modification, and management fuels within designated areas in order to enhance mitigation efforts in the event of a wildland fire situation.
WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE- A zone of transition between wildland (unoccupied land)
and human development.
REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
1. Redding Electrical Utility 2019 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.
2. Redding COMMUNITY PLANNING ASSISTANCE FOR WILDFIRE 2019
3. Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (14CCR), Division 1.5, Chapter 7, Subchapter 2, Articles 1-5.
4. Public Resource Code Section 4291 (Amended 2018, Effective January 1, 2019), and
Section 4291.1
5. Public Resource Code Division 4421 through 4446, Chapter 6 FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS 5/10/2017
6. Report to Shasta County Board of Supervisors, August 13, 2019, Ordinance for Defensible Space for Fire Protection.
7. State of California, Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Report, 2/22/2019. In
response to Executive Order N-05-19, 1/9/2019.
8. CAL FIRE – Shasta County Incidents and Responses Reports for the years 2008 through
2018
9. NOTICE OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE INSPECTION FORM
10. CAL FIRE – Are you ready? Graphic Description of Defensible Space - Pamphlet
11. CAL FIRE – Returning home after a Wildfire – Pamphlet
12. SCFD/CDF/Shasta County Sheriff’s Office - Shasta County Wildfire Evacuation Plan –
Shingletown
13. CAL FIRE – READY, SET, GO – Your Personal Wildfire Action Plan – Booklet
14. CAL FIRE – Homeowners Checklist – How to Make Your Home Fire Safe.
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