Highway 36 West Fuel Reduction Project- Phase 2
Summary
SCH Number
2026050899
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Highway 36 West Fuel Reduction Project- Phase 2
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/22/2026
Document Description
The goal of this project is to reduce the fuels immediately adjacent to the highway, reducing the risk of roadside fire starts. This project is Phase 2 of the Highway 36W Fuel Reduction Project, reducing the risk of a damaging fire to approximately 890 housing units within one mile of the project area (Census 2010) and several thousand acres of valuable rangeland. This project will be accomplished using CAL FIRE personnel and Contractors who will use fire apparatus, hand tools, chainsaws, terra torch, and firing techniques to develop, maintain and further the development of defensible fuel profiles for the residents of Tehama County. The project area is approximately 132 acres located northwest of the community of Red Bluff in both the CALTRANS Right of Way (ROW) and private property along both sides of Highway 36 from postmile marker 23.2 to 28.2, up to 150’ from the road edge. The project location is in the western Sacramento Valley Foothills adjacent to the California Coastal Range. Elevations range from 600 to 900 feet. The vegetation is characterized by grasslands, chamise, chaparral, and oak woodlands.
Project activities include; brush cutting, thinning live trees (16” DBH and under), herbicide application, removal of hazard trees, chipping, pile and broadcast burning. Trees retained will be pruned a minimum of 8’ above ground level or a maximum of 50% live crown. The cut vegetation will be chipped or piled and burned within the project area. Herbicides will be applied in accordance with Department of Pesticide Regulations (DPR) to sprouting species to minimize regrowth as a maintenance component. All activities may occur year-round, weather permitting. Broadcast burning will occur after annual grasses in the ROW have dried and cured, typically in the late spring/ early summer. Manual vegetation treatments and pile burning will primarily occur in the Fall/Winter. No piling of vegetation or direct ignition of fuels will take place within 50 feet of any watercourse.
The project will be maintained once established, treatment frequency dependent vegetative regrowth.
Contact Information
Name
Shannon Rich
Agency Name
CAL FIRE
Job Title
Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Tehama
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Highway 36 from postmile marker 23.2 to 28.2
Total Acres
132
State Highways
Hwy 36
Township
27N
Range
5W
Section
19
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4; 15304 Minor Alterations to Land, Class 1; 1662.1 Existing Facilities
Reasons for Exemption
Field review by CAL FIRE staff confirmed that no exceptions apply that would preclude the use of a notice of exemption for this project. The Department has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland or timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation or traffic, utilities and service systems, and wildfire. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is kept on file at CAL FIRE’s Tehama-Glenn Unit Headquarters, 604 Antelope Blvd, Red Bluff, CA 96080
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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