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Director’s Report to the Board of Forestry

Resources Building, Auditorium 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, California 95814

December 2017

_____________________________________________________________________________

Resource Management Staff Developments

• We are very pleased to report that Angie Lottes has been appointed to the position of Assistant Deputy Director for Climate and Energy, starting December 11th. She brings a wealth of expertise in the areas of climate change and biomass energy. Angie will focus on our cap and trade grant programs and forest health and bioenergy projects.

• A new forest pest specialist has been hired for the northern California position based in

Redding. Dr. Curtis Ewing will begin work on December 11th. Forest Practice Program

Plan Submissions (through 11/31/2017) • THP submissions: The number of THP submissions through October 2017 was nearly

equal to last year’s submissions (198 compared to 197 in 2016).

• NTMP submissions: NTMP submissions were 20% lower than in October of last year (i.e., 12 compared to 15). NTO submissions were approximately 8% higher than the total received in October last year (i.e. 147 compared to 134).

• Exemption Notice submissions: Exemption submissions were approximately 16%

lower compared to October last year (i.e. 2,051 compared to 2,444). The number of Drought Mortality Exemptions filed through October this year is down by approximately 29% compared to last year and the area covered is approximately 14% lower.

• Emergency Notice submissions: Emergency Notice submissions were down

approximately 47% compared to October of last year (i.e. 85 compared to 160). • Plan Approval: 177 THPs have been approved to date this year; this is 13 less than

the total from the same time-period last year. The 12 NTMPs approved through October 2017 is equal to last year’s figure.

Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (TRFRF) Activities [Updated from the TRFRF Database (01/01/2017 through 10/31/2017)]

• The Department has expended 124,490 hours in conducting Forest Practice Program

activities funded by TRFRF. An additional 8,575 hours of Forest Practice Program

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activities not funded by TRFRF has also been completed. Combined, Department staff have recorded 133,065 hours of Forest Practice related activities through October 31, 2017.

Timber Operators Licensing and Forest Practice Enforcement Update

• Through November, the Timber Operator Licensing Program has received 45 incomplete applications out of the 115 renewal applications that were submitted. Reasons for incomplete applications include submittal of application photocopies, and missing phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, and signatures. The following tables summarize LTO and Enforcement Activities since the last report.

Table 2: LTO License Status Table 3: Active Civil Penalties Case Status

Status # New Applications Rec’d 2 Renewal Applications Rec’d 115 New Licenses Issued 4 Licenses Renewed 88 Incomplete Applications Rec’d 45 Applications Returned 36 Refunds Issued 0 Insurance Certificates Rec’d 43

Watershed Protection Program Update

• Final Watershed Emergency Response Team (WERT) reports have been posted on the CAL FIRE website. WERT “close-out” presentations on the reports were provided to agency representatives immediately following completion of the field work. Three additional WERT presentations were provided in Calistoga, Santa Rosa, and Willits when the reports were finalized. A 2017 WERT agency after-action meeting is planned for December 12th.

• Staff provided two presentations at the California Association of Consulting Foresters Fall Meeting in Chico on November 10th: (1) the Updated 100-Year Watercourse Crossing Guidance Report (revised California Forestry Report No. 1), and (2) Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog: Biology, Ecology, and Conservation. Will Olsen provided a presentation titled “Post-fire studies at Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest following the 2015 Valley Fire: A case study in collaborative research” at the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts Annual Conference on November 17th in Sacramento.

Status # of Cases Under Review 23 Developed for Signature 12 CPO Signed, Mailed, Served 3 Hearing(s) Scheduled 12 Settlement Mitigation 0 Payments 8 Probation 11 Judgement Needed 11 Default 12 Total 92

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Resource Protection and Improvement Program

Forest Health and Urban and Community Forestry (UCF)

• California Climate Investments Grant Guidelines for the 2017/2018 grant cycle are nearly complete. We are working with the Governor’s Office and the Natural Resources Agency to develop a statewide implementation strategy consistent with the Governor’s climate goals. Advertisement will occur and workshops will be scheduled soon.

Demonstration State Forests • Governor Brown will host the 86th Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on

Thursday, December 7th on the West Steps of the State Capitol. For the sixth year in a row, the Capitol Christmas tree, a 65-foot-tall white fir, comes from the Latour Demonstration State Forest near Redding in Shasta County.

• Soquel Demonstration State Forest Staff conducted a field tour with a project consultant from FEMA to review emergency road work conducted under the State of Emergency due to heavy rains and storm damage last winter. It is anticipated that the Forest Resources Improvement Fund, which funds the State Forests, will receive approximately $75,000 in reimbursement for emergency work that was completed.

• On November 16 and 17 Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest staff were assisted by Tulare Unit engines and Mountain Home Conservation Camp crews to conduct a 40-acre prescribed burn prior to the onset of an approaching storm.

• Christmas Tree sales at Mountain Home are up this year and as of the date of this report are at 111 trees. Low snow levels and access to most of the forest on the Thanksgiving Holiday are factors driving this year’s sales.

• Jackson Demonstration State Forest has sold a total of 639 mushroom (Class I) permits this calendar year.

Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center (LAMRC) • Cone collections included 992 total bushels delivered to LAMRC. A breakdown of from,

where, and what species is available upon request.

• Approximately 77,000 seedlings will soon be ready for delivery based on last year’s order. A non-profit group called One Tree Planted has agreed to pay for the entirety of this order so that the trees can be made available for free to landowners in the southern Sierras.

• LAMRC staff have been working with CAL FIRE’s Forestry Assistant Specialists to determine how many seedlings may be needed to assist with the post-fire reforestation efforts.

Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) • Forests and Rangelands Assessment 2017: Anticipated public release is late

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• FRAP staff contributed to the recently signed draft MOU between CAL FIRE and PUC

to support shared objectives between the two agencies. • CAL FIRE’s damage assessment process is now fully automated using electronic

tablets in the field to record data on damaged and destroyed structures. FRAP staff (Tiffany Meyer) has helped with the use of the Department’s Collector App to assist with Damage Assessment Teams. During the recent wildfires in LNU the GIS application helped operationally to locate over 6,000 damaged properties.

California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP)

• Contracts are actively being completed for the FY 2017 TRFRF allocation.

• CAL FIRE is assisting the High-Speed Rail Authority to implement grants for reforestation projects in order to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate impacts from construction of the high-speed rail system. Funding for reforestation projects remains available for contracting.

• Revision of the reforestation manual for California is proceeding well and is on track to

be completed in early 2018. Forest Pest Management • The California Forest Pest Council had its 66th annual meeting in Davis on

November 15th and 16th. • An invitation only summit on invasive pests in California is scheduled for the State

Capitol on January 11th and 12th, 2018. The summit will identify needs, coordinate efforts, and develop a plan for combating all invasive pest issues in the State. CAL FIRE staff is involved in this planning effort.

• CAL FIRE staff will be visiting the Weir Canyon gold spotted oak borer infestation in

Orange County with the USDA Forest Service and UC Riverside. The site burned in a recent fire and researchers hope to determine the impacts of fire on this invasive pest.

Vegetation Management Program • The Vegetation Management Program currently has 62 approved projects for 73,162

planned acres. • Two projects were approved and contracts signed this month. One project is in AEU

and one project in CZU for a total of 2,015 planned acres. • Three projects were submitted for review but have not yet been approved. One project

in AEU, one in VNC, and one in CZU, for a total of 2,688 planned acres. Cultural Resources

• The Department will host its first Native American Advisory Council meeting on

January 31st in Sacramento.

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• Staff completed this year’s archaeology trainings with two refreshers on November 16th

and 17th.

Tree Mortality Task Force

• November marks the two-year anniversary of the Tree Mortality Task Force (TMTF). The November 13th meeting was spent reflecting upon the accomplishments of the TMTF, its’ working groups, partner organizations, and the high hazard counties. There was broad agreement that the relationships built through the TMTF have been the key to its function and successes to date. Despite significant progress, many dead and dying hazard trees remain. The TMTF stays committed to addressing these hazards.

• The Public Outreach Working Group developed a Two-Year Review document that

highlights the collaboration and cooperation of the TMTF and documents our progress towards achieving the 19 Directives provided to the TMTF in the Governor’s October 30, 2015 Executive Order. The document is available on the TMTF website here.

• The following table documents the number of trees removed by TMTF federal, state,

and local partners through October 2017.

• The Insurance Sub-Working Group has worked with Yapacopia to develop an online

home insurance finding platform for those homeowners having difficulty finding insurance or facing non-renewal of their existing policies. This site can be accessed at: www.sierrainsurancefinder.com

• The next TMTF Task Force meeting will be held on Monday, December 11th, from

1:00 to 3:00 P.M in the Governor’s Council Room in the State Capitol.

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Office of the State Fire Marshal

Planning & Risk Analysis Program

Wildland Pre-Fire Engineering • New app to track Education hours is now being tested. Anticipate implementing this

new collection program by January 1ST.

Defensible Space Program • The Defensible Space Program has now collected over 185,000 inspections for this

calendar year so far. 140,000 of these inspections have been documented in the new electronic Collector Application.

• The Program is currently developing the 2018 Defensible Space Collector App with some updates and enhancements from the 2017 Defensible Space Collector App.

Damage Inspection Program • Damage inspection curriculum and task books continue to be developed by the

FIRESCOPE working group; review by internal users is taking place and final approvals should be done by early next year.

• Information on over 10,250 structures damaged or destroyed by wildfires has been collected across the State so far, this year. Over 9,650 of these structures were documented during the 2017 October Fire Siege.

• The increasing and ongoing collection of both Pre-and Post-Fire databases is beginning

to merge as this information overlaps. Much more detailed analytics are being formulated with this valuable information.

• Many requests for damage inspection information are being fielded from the 2017

October Fire Siege.

Fire Plan • Fire Plan Workshop with statewide attendance of Pre-Fire Engineers was held in Ione

on Nov. 27th – 30th. • Staff are preparing for GIS training in early 2018; which will focus on new GIS users.

• Involved with CalMAPPER training development focusing on Version 3 rollout.

• Continuing progress with new 2018 Strategic Fire Plan via Steering Committee.

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SRA Program • The SRA Program has begun the process to generate the Informational Report for the

State Responsibility Are Fire Prevention Fee for Fiscal Year 2016-17.

• SRA Program is making progress revising the SRA Fire Prevention Grant Program within the requirements of the new Cap & Trade funding source.

• Administrative work for the past two Grant cycles continues.

FIRE PROTECTION

Fire Protection Program

Law Enforcement/Civil Cost Recovery

• Last month, CAL FIRE Law Enforcement made 38 arrests and issued 72 citations (excluding PRC 4291).

• Last month, CAL FIRE received $201,162 resulting from Civil Cost Recovery actions.

• Investigations are ongoing into the causes of the October wind event fires in Butte, Nevada-Yuba-Placer, Mendocino, and Sonoma-Lake-Napa Units.

• On November 20, 2017, CAL FIRE Law Enforcement Officers arrested Gesa Nickens, 23, for allegedly setting a wildfire on state land in the unincorporated area of Lake Mathews within the Riverside Unit.

Fire Protection Operations

• Operations staff continue to support the 2017 Disaster Recovery effort as a result of the

October Fire Siege. Daily reports continue to be distributed to the Joint Field Office documenting CAL FIRE's continued commitment to recovery efforts and associated costs. An Agency Representative and Agency Administrator continue to be assigned at the Sacramento level.

• The AVL/MDT project continues to move forward with installations currently occurring in the Butte Unit. Fresno Kings Unit resources are now fully operational and feedback from the field users has been positive. An Executive briefing was conducted on November 15, 2017, detailing the current status of the project.

• Telecommunications now anticipates full replacement of the legacy GPH style portable radio by the end of this Fiscal Year. This will allow our field personnel to all be using the same style radio, with updated technology with hundreds of additional frequencies at their disposal. With all personnel using the same portable radio, this will remove the requirement to have an additional frequency programming loads created by Cal OES Public Safety Communications, thus reducing long term programming costs for multiple radios.

• Emergency Command Center (ECC) reviews were successfully completed in the Tulare, Fresno, Madera-Mariposa-Merced, and Tuolumne-Calaveras Units.

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Mobile Equipment

• Mobile Equipment Program is actively working with CHP to have them outfit 190 light

vehicles with emergency lighting through an interagency agreement.

• Vehicles from the FY 2016-17 Fleet Acquisition Plan are arriving daily with many vehicles already being built up through vendor contracts. As an example, all our artisan vehicles are being contracted through a vendor in Fowler, CA.

• Continuing to actively hire staff to fill critical vacancies. The program has filled an Office Technician position. A Heavy Equipment Mechanic (HEM) will start December 12, 2017, and an SSA will start on January 2, 2018. Two additional HEM positions are being advertised through the State hiring process.

Aviation Management Unit • Inquiries continue to come in regarding the effects and chemical properties of fire

retardant after the October fires. We are utilizing Communications and Legal to vet and responding accordingly.

• It is expected that the CAL FIRE Helicopter Bid Protest decision by the Administrative Law Judge will occur by December 9, 2017.

• Three Exclusive Use (EU) Air Tankers and four EU helicopters were released from their contracts at the close of business on November 30, 2017. These assets were successful in many ways including initial, extended, and major incident support, and by reducing flight hours on our own aging fleet of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

Tactical Air Operations

• Tactical Air Operations staff are actively conducting annual air base reviews to ensure

administrative and operational compliance with policies and regulations. All reviews have been successful.

• The Program has submitted grant proposals to replace aging flight helmets, improve our helitorch inventory to increase availability of this tool for prescribed fire, and the acquisition of foreign object debris mats at airbases to reduce the potential for damage to aircraft from particles on the tarmacs and taxiways that could otherwise be removed to reduce risk.

Incident Management Teams (IMT)

• CAL FIRE IMTs are assisting in the Sonoma County Disaster Recovery process through Mission Tasking under the California State Emergency Plan. IMT 5 (Bravo) was assigned for 17 days to assist standing up and organizing the Sonoma County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), provide guidance to local officials, work with resources to mitigate identified watershed threats as outlined in a Watershed Emergency Response Team report.

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• IMT 2 (Patterson) is assigned through the mission tasking process to assist Cal OES and the US Army Corps of Engineers to plan, organize, and communicate the task of efficient debris removal from destroyed structures within Sonoma County.

Cooperative Fire Program

Conservation Camp Program

• CAL FIRE and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) have started their management review process which includes the in-depth administrative and operational management review of 39 Conservation Camps, two Fire Centers, and three Forestry Training Centers. Six management reviews have been completed in November and six management reviews are scheduled for December 2017.

• The statewide Conservation Camps population stats as of Wednesday, November 22, 2017:

o The current statewide shortage of fire crew members assigned to fire crews is 984. (A decrease of 19 from 1003 as of November 06, 2017.)

o The inmate population stands at 82% (+0%) of capacity. o The fire crew capacity stands at 70% (-1%).

State-Federal Program • CAL FIRE was awarded two Homeland Security grants from a 2015 submittal; funded at

100 percent. Both grant funded projects upgrade security at CAL FIRE facilities, one at the Santa Rosa Region Headquarters and another at Santa Clara Unit Headquarters Building.

• CAL FIRE and the Federal Forest Agencies continue finalizing the 2018-2023 CFMA for forwarding to respective Executive Managements for approval.

• The October Fire Siege invoices, under CFAA, are coming through the system for payment to our local government partners. CAL FIRE has requested an advance in funds from FEMA for the declared October Fire Siege.

Safety and EMS Programs

• The EMS Program delivered two train-the-trainer classes statewide in Public Safety First

Aid (PSFA) the week of November 27, 2017 to Unit and Program EMS coordinators. On April 1, 2015, the State of California revised the PSFA training standards, expanding the scope of practice and optional skills, exceeding the national Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) training standards. This expanded scope of practice for PSFA trained personnel will allow CAL FIRE employees to provide a higher standard of pre-hospital care than previously able. CAL FIRE’s goal is to have all current EMR trained personnel transitioned to PSFA prior to April 1, 2018.

• The Safety Program hosted the Executive Board of Review (EBOR) to process and begin

to finalize Department recommendations from four Serious Accident Review Team (SART) reports from the past year. The incidents included two inmate firefighter fatalities, a tree climbing incident with major injuries, and a fire engine that was destroyed after leaving the roadway and injuring 4 firefighters.

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Training Program

• Construction on the three-story dormitory project is moving forward at a steady pace. This week marked the milestone of pouring the entire foundation.

• The Training Program is working closely with the Department’s Professional Standards

Program to modify existing supervision classes and add a leadership track for employees.

• Work is on-going to update the four Training Policy Handbooks (Sections 4000, 4100, 4200, and 4300).

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Year Comparison 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016

THPs Received 115 118 71 74 0 0 12 5 198 197THPs Rejected for Filing

(Returned) 36 25 14 20 0 0 7 4 57 49THPs Pre-Harvest

Inspections 120 122 60 62 0 0 12 6 192 190THPs with NON-

Concurrences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

THPs Denied 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

THPs Approved 117 114 51 69 0 0 9 7 177 190

Acreage in Approved THPs 31,439 32,480 22,283 43,664 0 0 1,835 1,916 55,557 78,060

NTMPs Received 10 14 2 1 0 0 0 0 12 15NTMPs Rejected for Filing

(Returned) 2 8 1 1 0 0 1 0 4 9NTMPs Pre-Harvest

Inspections 11 14 2 1 0 0 0 0 13 15NTMPs with NON-

Concurrences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NTMPs Denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NTMPs Approved 9 9 3 3 0 0 0 0 12 12

NTMPs Approved Acres 1,039 3,222 3,874 4,311 0 0 0 0 4,913 7,533NTMP Notice of Timber

Operations Received 120 112 14 14 0 0 13 8 147 134

Exemption Notices Received 312 322 892 1173 3 3 844 946 2,051 2,444

Emergency Notices Received 7 47 64 39 0 0 15 75 86 161

Exemption Types Received 2017

Other Exemp

Rec'd 2017

Santa Rosa 29 312Redding 240 892Riverside 1 3

Fresno 740 844

Emergency Types Received 2017

Other Emerg

Total Rec'd 2017

Santa Rosa 2 7Redding 4 64Riverside 0 0

Fresno 3 15

21600

113174

Fresno

Dead Dying Diseased

< 3 Acre Conversions

70

Fire Hazard Forest Fire Prevention

InsectFuel Hazard

1291

26 231

Wind

CALENDAR YEAR 2017TIMBER HARVESTING INFORMATION THROUGH OCTOBER 31, 2017

Note: This information is for Timber Harvesting Plans, Exemptions, Emergencies, and Nonindustrial Timber Management Plans submitted to the Department during a calendar year. The numbers are the cumulative totals for the

calendar year as of the specific date

TotalsSanta Rosa Redding Riverside

Fire

20

3 05 0 0

5601

45

98333

1

1 9 00 0 0

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California Forest Practice Rules -Exemptions and Emergency Notices

Accepted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through October

Type of ExemptionAdmin

AreaCount Acres Count Acres

Coast 104 325,659 102 332,100

Cascade 414 1,861,788 348 1,967,903

South 1 240 1 240

Sierra 81 233,850 48 249,852

Totals 600 2,421,537 499 2,550,095

Coast 14 1,113 14 4,219

Cascade 283 21,615 137 8,338

South 1 20 1 200

Sierra 675 78,008 542 63,633

Totals 973 100,756 694 76,390

Coast 79 109 96 136

Cascade 193 342 158 398

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 45 226 18 43

Totals 317 677 272 577

Coast 7 29 8 55

Cascade 0 0 4 81

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 1 3 1 5

Totals 8 32 13 141

Coast 2 12 9 28

Cascade 3 13 12 62

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 3 7 7 32

Totals 8 32 28 122

Coast 0 0 1 58

Cascade 4 51 5 427

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 1 29 1 57

Totals 5 80 7 542

Coast 3 190 1 67

Cascade 16 1,776 11 1,348

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 0 0 1 161

Totals 19 1,966 13 1,576

Coast 102 255 70 184

Cascade 228 461 129 272

South 1 3 1 3

Sierra 24 40 31 49

Totals 355 759 231 508

Coast 11 81 9 458

Cascade 28 801 83 115,467

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 109 8,381 194 317,845

Totals 148 9,263 286 433,770

Coast 0 0 1 2

Cascade 2 1,890 2 483

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 0 0 1 1

Totals 2 1,890 4 486

Coast 0 0 1 3,493

Cascade 2 1,500 3 358

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 0 0 0 0

Totals 2 1,500 4 3,851

All Exemptions Grand Totals 2,437 2,538,492 2,051 3,068,058

Sub Damaged Timberlands 1038(d)

Dead, Dying, Diseased/Fuelwood, Split

Products/Christmas Tree 1038(a)&(b)

Rule

Public Agency/Utility Right-of-Way

Slash Removal

Forest Fire Prevention 1038(i)

Fire Hazard (300 ft.)

Fire Hazard (150 ft.) and

Fire Hazard (300 ft.)1038(c)(6)

Fire Hazard (150 ft.) 1038(c)

Drought Mortality 1038(k)

1038(c)(6)

2016 2017

1038(g)

1104.1(b)&(c)

1104.1(a)

1038(j) Forest Fire Prevention Pilot

Less Than 3 Acre Conversion

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California Forest Practice Rules -Exemptions and Emergency Notices

Accepted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through October

Type Admin

of 1052 Emergency Notice Area Count Acres Count Acres

Coast 0 0 0 0

Cascade 4 1,377 1 27

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 4 3,581 7 255

Totals 8 4,958 8 282

Coast 46 6,435 5 359

Cascade 30 3,221 56 8,247

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 69 5,671 1 500

Totals 145 15,327 62 9,106

Coast 0 0 0 0

Cascade 0 0 1 3

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 0 0 2 53

Totals 0 0 3 56

Coast 0 0 0 0

Cascade 5 405 2 252

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 2 143 4 221

Totals 7 548 6 473

Coast 0 0 2 25

Cascade 0 0 4 63

South 0 0 0 0

Sierra 0 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 6 88

10,005Grand TotalsAll Emergency Notices 160 20,833 85

2016

Drought

Fire

Fuel Hazard Reduction

Insect

All Other Emergency Notices

2017

The State of California and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy of data or maps. Neither the State nor the Department shall be liable under any circumstances for any direct, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to any claim by any user or third party on account of or arising from the use of data or maps. Acreage is taken from the documents of record and may not represent acres harvested on the ground.

Data Source: Forest Practice System (FPS)Data Contact: fpgis@fire.ca.gov

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