SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTSG. FIRE MANAGEMENTin the Watershed. In addition, grass fires could vector fire into adjacent shrub-dominated areas;unlike fires started in shrub that either cannot sustain themselves or spread very slowly, anadjacent grass fire could generate sufficient heat to cause crowning (flaming combustion in theupper part of trees or other woody plants) in the shrubs.Much of the grass-dominated areas in the Watershed are grazed and would typically be in a lowdevelopment stage during most of the fire season, depending on the extent of grazing. The neteffect of grazing, depending on degree of use, is to reduce both fire rate of spread and intensity.However, the major arteries of human use, such as Calaveras Road, have extensive grass fuelareas where fires could originate. The heavier fuel types adjacent to these grassy areas arederived from mixed hardwood species, where fuel structure presents relatively lower fire hazardsthan their eucalyptus/conifer counterparts.Woodland fuel-type areas constitute 8,700 acres (22 percent) of the Watershed and consist of amoderate cover of mature oaks interspersed with grasses and other herbaceous plants (e.g., theblue oak woodlands east of Calaveras Lake and south of Arroyo Hondo). These landscapesintergrade between pure grass stands and the denser canopy hardwood forests of oak, bay, andmadrone. Additionally, there are some areas of shrub fuels adjacent to grass-dominated areas,where fire spread would present significantly more dangerous fire behavior.Only relatively isolated stands of northern coastal scrub fuel types are present on the Watershed.Much of the 1,450 acres of northern coastal scrub lands are dominated by low-lying Californiasagebrush, which has a somewhat higher ignition potential than Bacharris-dominated fuels.Other northern coastal scrub areas intergrade with heavier shrub fuels of chamise and mixedchaparral, creating areas of extreme fire hazard, such as portions of Poverty Ridge.Resources at RiskThe resources at risk of fire damage are represented below in their order of priority and inaccordance with the established protocols for fire suppression and fire analysis:1. Personal Safety. This includes the health and well-being of SFPUC personnel, the public,and fire service personnel. The greatest threat to safety generally occurs in areas of densepopulation with poor emergency access (narrow, windy, and steep roads that serve largenumbers of people). Such areas do not occur in the Watershed, but could occur outsideand near the Watershed boundaries, particularly near the City of Pleasanton.2. Property Values. In general, this refers to high-value resources, such as homes andproperty items that represent invested resources and high values, and is usually expressedin monetary terms. The Watershed has many resources of considerable value that could bedamaged by wildfire, such as the Sunol Pump Station, Sunol Water Temple, Sunol FilterPlant, and Watershed keeper cottages. In addition, areas of the Watershed are immediatelyadjacent to private lands with valuable resources such as homes or schools.3. Natural Resources. In the Watershed-urban interface, this usually means the flora andfauna on private or public lands, which can be viewed as a public resource for recreationNOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan III.G-4 ESA / 930385January 2001