OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. – The Olympic Valley Public Service District has launched a wildfire prevention initiative known as the OV-4 Olympic Valley Community Wildfire Buffer Project. 

“The 150-foot fuels reduction project surrounding our homes is critical to our survival,” said Bob Barnett, an Olympic Valley Resident in a board presentation. 

Two residents from South Lake Tahoe explained that a similar perimeter allowed the fire department to save their homes during the Caldor Fire, according to the board packet. “The fire intensity was reduced in the perimeter as it neared the house, allowing firefighters to stop the fire just outside their backyard.” 

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This undertaking aims to create a protective perimeter around homes, buildings, and other structures in the valley, enhancing community safety in the event of an encroaching fire. 

The project involves the creation of a 150-foot-wide fuel break spanning approximately 130 acres around the residential area. This buffer will be constructed through a combination of hand-cut piling and burning, chipping, and mechanical thinning. The goal is to reduce fuel continuity and lower the risk of intense wildfires threatening the community. 

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The project will also provide protection for about 900 habitable structures and compliment defensible space efforts. It will cut exposure threat to emergency personnel, and reduce potential ember cast and radiant heat by lowering fire intensity. It will improve resilience to fire, insects, disease and drought. 

Funding for the project’s design and permitting phase was secured in 2023 through grants from the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Wildfire Resilience Program.

The district has also applied for implementation funding from the Truckee Tahoe Airport District. 

The OV-4 project is part of a larger, comprehensive wildfire management strategy for the area. Olympic Valley, identified by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) as a Very High Fire Severity Zone, has been implementing aggressive defensible space inspections for 25 years.

In 2022, it adopted a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. It identified five wildfire protection plan target areas. This is area 4.

The fuel break is expected to significantly reduce flame length, intensity, and rate of spread of potential wildfires, thereby increasing safety for residents and emergency personnel. It will complement individual lot maintenance efforts and work in conjunction with other wildfire prevention projects in the area. 

The district met its goal of completing planning and permitting by spring 2024, with implementation beginning in the summer of 2024.