Projects - Vegetation / Fuels Management

About 

The Sonoma Valley Fire District is committed to reducing wildfire risk through proactive vegetation management and targeted fuels-reduction projects across our community. Working alongside partners such as CAL FIRE, Sonoma Ecology Center, Sonoma RCD, local Fire Safe Councils, and neighborhood groups, we implement shaded fuel breaks, defensible-space inspections, roadside clearance, and strategic fuels-treatment operations designed to slow fire spread and improve firefighter access. These efforts support our long-term wildfire-resilience strategy, enhance public safety, and help protect the unique landscapes and neighborhoods of the Sonoma Valley.

2025 Project Work

2025 Montini Prescribed Burn

A firefighter in yellow gear walks through smoky terrain battling flames in a grassy area with trees in the background.
Firefighter working on prescribed burn. Montini Preserve 2025 

In 2025, the Sonoma Valley Fire District—working in partnership with CAL FIRE, Sonoma Ecology Center, and the City of Sonoma—successfully conducted a prescribed burn at the Montini Open Space Preserve. This carefully planned, weather-dependent operation reduced hazardous fuel loads, removed invasive species, and improved the health of native grasslands that depend on periodic fire. By reintroducing low-intensity, controlled fire to the landscape, the project strengthened wildfire resilience for surrounding neighborhoods, created safer conditions for firefighters, and supported long-term ecological stewardship of one of Sonoma Valley’s most cherished open-space areas.

 

Cavedale Fire Readiness and Forest Restoration Project

Location: Cavedale Road, Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department area
Acreage: ~9 acres
Status: In Progress (November 2025–2026)

The Cavedale Fire Readiness and Forest Restoration Project is a collaborative fuels-reduction effort supported by Conservation Corps North Bay and the Mayacamas Fire Safe Council. This work establishes a 100-foot shaded fuel break along Cavedale Road and reopens sections of an existing fire road to improve access for future fire operations. Strategic roadside fuel treatment in this corridor enhances evacuation safety, strengthens ingress and egress routes, and reduces hazardous vegetation that rebounded following the 2017 Nuns Fire.

Crews will thin dense regrowth, remove small-diameter Douglas-fir, prune ladder fuels, and construct burn piles across roughly 9 acres. This project also serves as the foundational step toward larger, landscape-scale fuels-management efforts in the Mayacamas region, preparing the site for a planned 23-acre prescribed-fire unit and supporting long-term wildfire-resilience goals for the surrounding communities.

The image shows a forested area with piles of branches and logs, likely arranged for firewood or clearing purposes.
A group of people in green helmets working outdoors, clearing vegetation in a forested area on a cloudy day.
The image shows a wooded area with piles of cut logs and a chainsaw on the ground, indicating recent clearing or logging.
The image shows a forested area with several small mounds of sticks and leaves, possibly for shelter or composting.
The image shows a forested area with piles of branches and logs, likely arranged for firewood or clearing purposes.
A group of people in green helmets working outdoors, clearing vegetation in a forested area on a cloudy day.
The image shows a wooded area with piles of cut logs and a chainsaw on the ground, indicating recent clearing or logging.
The image shows a forested area with several small mounds of sticks and leaves, possibly for shelter or composting.

 

Grove Street Shaded Fuel Break

Location: Grove Street corridor, Sonoma Valley
Acreage: ~5 miles by 100 feet (linear treatment area)
Status: Ongoing / Multi-phase

The Grove Street Shaded Fuel Break is a strategic vegetation-management project designed to strengthen wildfire protection for the Sonoma Mountain area. Extending along approximately five miles of roadway, the project reduces hazardous fuels within a 100-foot corridor to improve evacuation routes, support firefighter access, and slow potential fire spread into nearby neighborhoods.

Work includes thinning overgrown vegetation, reducing ladder fuels, pruning encroaching limbs, and opening key segments to enhance visibility and roadside clearance. The project is supported by Measure H funding and delivered in partnership with local landowners, Fire Safe Sonoma, The Grove Street Fire Safe Council and the Sonoma Resource Conservation District.

This shaded fuel break also serves as a core component of a larger network of planned fuels-management projects in the Sonoma Valley, tying directly into future prescribed-fire opportunities and landscape-scale treatment efforts.

A foggy, narrow road lined with trees and greenery, with rain on the vehicle's windshield.
A sign announcing the countywide vegetation management crew is working, with gratitude expressed for Measure H.
A winding road through green trees with a fallen branch on the side and a sign visible near the entrance.
A foggy, narrow road lined with trees and greenery, with rain on the vehicle's windshield.
A sign announcing the countywide vegetation management crew is working, with gratitude expressed for Measure H.
A winding road through green trees with a fallen branch on the side and a sign visible near the entrance.

 

Hannah Center Training Burn & Fuels Reduction Project

Location: Hannah Boys Center, Sonoma Valley
Acreage: ~6–8 acres (training-burn unit & surrounding fuels reduction)
Status: Completed (June 2025)

The Hannah Center Training Burn is a live-fire training and fuels-reduction project designed to improve firefighter readiness while reducing hazardous vegetation in a fire-prone wildland–urban interface area. Conducted under the supervision of experienced SVFD personnel, this project provides hands-on training in fire control, ignition techniques, and wildland operations while removing accumulated fuels that pose a risk to the surrounding Boyes Hot Springs and Fetters Hot Springs communities.

Hannah Training Burn

Completed June, 2025, the burn followed approved safety, weather, and smoke-management requirements to minimize impacts to local air quality. The operation targeted overgrown grasses, helping maintain a defensible buffer around the Hannah Center campus and strengthening operational safety for future wildfire responses. This work also aligns with regional goals to expand prescribed-fire capacity and integrate training burns into broader community-resilience strategies.

 

Cavedale Road Calming Area Fuels-Reduction Project

Location: Upper Cavedale Road corridor
Acreage: Targeted treatment zones
Status: Completed (Spring 2025)

The Cavedale Road Calming Area Project focused on creating strategically placed, low-fuel zones that can provide short-term refuge for residents and firefighters during a wildfire event. Crews conducted chipping, brush removal, and selective thinning in key turnout locations along Upper Cavedale Road, reducing dense vegetation and improving visibility and roadside safety.

These treatments were especially important while Lower Cavedale Road remained closed due to a landslide, temporarily limiting evacuation and access options for the community. By reducing fuels in these designated areas, the project strengthened emergency readiness, enhanced roadside defensibility, and contributed to overall fire-resilience efforts in the Mayacamas region.

A gravel road lined with bushes and small trees, with two vehicles parked nearby under cloudy skies.
A misty landscape featuring a dirt road surrounded by sparse vegetation, with a car parked nearby.
Workers in bright vests are clearing branches from a gravel road surrounded by greenery on a foggy day.
Two workers in safety gear are loading branches into a chipper truck on a dirt road in a wooded area. Fog is present.
A gravel path winds through a misty landscape with sparse vegetation and trees, suggesting a quiet, natural setting.
A gravel path winds through a hilly area with sparse trees and shrubs, under a cloudy sky.
Workers are clearing brush with a wood chipper on a misty hillside, preparing a trail or managing vegetation.
A gravel road in a hilly area with workers in bright clothing, vehicles, and a cloudy sky in the background.
The image shows a rocky, dirt area with sparse vegetation and trees, under a cloudy sky.
Two workers in safety gear are loading branches into a yellow wood chipper truck on a foggy hillside.
A rocky path lined with shrubs and trees under a cloudy sky, hinting at a natural setting.
A truck and wood chipper are on a foggy road, with a person operating the chipper surrounded by vegetation.
May contain: plant, vegetation, and ground
A gravel path surrounded by greenery and trees, leading into a foggy landscape.
A gravel road lined with bushes and small trees, with two vehicles parked nearby under cloudy skies.
A misty landscape featuring a dirt road surrounded by sparse vegetation, with a car parked nearby.
Workers in bright vests are clearing branches from a gravel road surrounded by greenery on a foggy day.
Two workers in safety gear are loading branches into a chipper truck on a dirt road in a wooded area. Fog is present.
A gravel path winds through a misty landscape with sparse vegetation and trees, suggesting a quiet, natural setting.
A gravel path winds through a hilly area with sparse trees and shrubs, under a cloudy sky.
Workers are clearing brush with a wood chipper on a misty hillside, preparing a trail or managing vegetation.
A gravel road in a hilly area with workers in bright clothing, vehicles, and a cloudy sky in the background.
The image shows a rocky, dirt area with sparse vegetation and trees, under a cloudy sky.
Two workers in safety gear are loading branches into a yellow wood chipper truck on a foggy hillside.
A rocky path lined with shrubs and trees under a cloudy sky, hinting at a natural setting.
A truck and wood chipper are on a foggy road, with a person operating the chipper surrounded by vegetation.
May contain: plant, vegetation, and ground
A gravel path surrounded by greenery and trees, leading into a foggy landscape.

 

Community Burn Pile Workshop

Location: Sonoma Valley (roadside fuels-reduction site)
Date: April 13, 2025
Participants: ~30 community members
Status: Completed

On April 13, 2025, the Sonoma Valley Fire District hosted a hands-on Burn Pile Workshop to help residents learn safe, effective methods for managing vegetative debris. Approximately 30 community members participated in the training, which combined classroom-style instruction with live demonstrations at an active fuels-reduction site.

The workshop covered the full process of compliant burn-pile operation, including permitting requirements, site preparation, ignition techniques, safety steps, and proper burndown procedures. In addition to the educational component, attendees helped remove hazardous dead fuels along a nearby roadway, contributing to local wildfire-risk reduction while gaining practical experience under the supervision of SVFD personnel.

This event supports the District’s ongoing goals of community education, safe fuels management, and increased neighborhood preparedness ahead of fire season.

A group of people in a grassy area is gathered around a burning pile of brush, demonstrating fire management techniques.
People working outdoors, managing brush piles, surrounded by greenery on a sunny day.
Controlled burns of brush piles in a rural area, set against a blue sky and surrounding greenery. Safety measures likely in place.
Firefighters from CAL FIRE manage controlled burns among forestry and greenery, with a focus on wildfire prevention.
The image shows people managing controlled burns of brush piles in a grassy area, producing smoke and flames.
People are gathered outdoors near a smoky area, likely engaged in a wood-burning or land management activity.
A sunny landscape with green grass, scattered brush piles, and trees in a hilly area under a clear blue sky.
A landscape with a clear blue sky, various trees, and fallen branches or logs on grassy ground.
People are participating in a controlled burn demonstration in a grassy area, with smoke and flames visible.
A group of people gathered outdoors near piles of wood and smoke, likely engaged in a cleanup or community event.
A group of people gathers near a controlled fire in a grassy area, possibly for a community cleanup or land management activity.
A sunny landscape featuring green grass, scattered fallen branches, and trees under a clear blue sky.
A green field with scattered brush and trees under a clear blue sky, surrounded by gentle hills.
A group of people in a grassy area is gathered around a burning pile of brush, demonstrating fire management techniques.
People working outdoors, managing brush piles, surrounded by greenery on a sunny day.
Controlled burns of brush piles in a rural area, set against a blue sky and surrounding greenery. Safety measures likely in place.
Firefighters from CAL FIRE manage controlled burns among forestry and greenery, with a focus on wildfire prevention.
The image shows people managing controlled burns of brush piles in a grassy area, producing smoke and flames.
People are gathered outdoors near a smoky area, likely engaged in a wood-burning or land management activity.
A sunny landscape with green grass, scattered brush piles, and trees in a hilly area under a clear blue sky.
A landscape with a clear blue sky, various trees, and fallen branches or logs on grassy ground.
People are participating in a controlled burn demonstration in a grassy area, with smoke and flames visible.
A group of people gathered outdoors near piles of wood and smoke, likely engaged in a cleanup or community event.
A group of people gathers near a controlled fire in a grassy area, possibly for a community cleanup or land management activity.
A sunny landscape featuring green grass, scattered fallen branches, and trees under a clear blue sky.
A green field with scattered brush and trees under a clear blue sky, surrounded by gentle hills.

 

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