Tuolumne Fire Safe Council Receives Statewide Recognition

Sonora, CA — The work by a local non-profit to develop a strategic fuel break system has drawn statewide accolades.

The Tuolumne Fire Safe Council, the group previously known as the Highway 108 Fire Safe Council, has received the inaugural “Bruce Turbeville Resilience Brilliance Award from the California Fire Safe Council. Tubeville, who was the founder of the statewide organization, passed away earlier this year and the award was created in his honor.

The award was given to the Tuolumne Fire Safe Council for the work on the North Tuolumne County Fuel Break System.  The challenging project includes 40 fuel breaks installed over 27 miles and treatment of 3,000 acres. It adds extra protection around Sonora and other population centers, as well as infrastructure like the Tuolumne Main Canal, Upper Sullivan Creek Watershed, Phoenix Powerhouse and Telegraph Hill. It stretches across an area from the Rambling Hills Road in Columbia, over to Lyons Dam, and also to Apple Colony near Tuolumne.

Multiple grant sources over the years have helped fund the project, including PG&E, CAL Fire, the US Forest Service, Prop 40, and others.