High-Country Health Food and Cafe in Mariposa California

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'Click' Here to Visit: 'Yosemite Bug Health Spa', Now Open.
'Click' Here to Visit: 'Yosemite Bug Health Spa', Now Open. "We provide a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere. Come in and let us help You Relax"
'Click' for More Info: 'Chocolate Soup', Fine Home Accessories and Gifts, Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' for More Info: 'Chocolate Soup', Fine Home Accessories and Gifts, Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' Here to Visit Happy Burger Diner in Mariposa... "We have FREE Wi-Fi, we're Eco-Friendly & have the Largest Menu in the Sierra"
'Click' Here to Visit Happy Burger Diner in Mariposa... "We have FREE Wi-Fi, we're Eco-Friendly & have the Largest Menu in the Sierra"
'Click' for More Info: Inter-County Title Company Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' for More Info: Inter-County Title Company Located in Mariposa, California

This is the fifth article in the series Fire in the Sierra Foothills, which describes the extreme danger from catastrophic wildfire in Mariposa County and the other counties along the western Sierra Front.  The series was written by the Fire Ready Committee, Mariposa County Resource Conservation District. 

September 26, 2014 - On a regional basis, the cost of making all wildland communities in the Sierra Foothills completely fire safe runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Landowners who expect the state or federal government to pitch in and solve this problem for them will be disappointed.  Moreover, making private land fire safe is the landowner’s responsibility, not the taxpayer’s.  As discussed in the previous article, the cost per acre for the landowner who contracts out the work varies from $850-$2,000 for mastication, limbing/thinning, and herbicide. Work charged by the hour can cost significantly more.  What might convince a landowner to spend this kind of money?

The most immediate reason is availability of homeowner’s insurance.   Some companies are not writing new policies in Mariposa County.  Some companies are increasing premiums.  Some companies are cancelling existing policies for the most trivial of reasons.  All companies are paying strict attention to overall danger and the availability of firefighting resources.  Inspections are routinely performed in some cases, and homeowners who have not paid proper attention to clearance issues have had their policies cancelled.   Things are getting tighter.  If we have another fire, things will get much tighter.  People who have bought property in Mariposa County often cannot obtain policies written on their newly acquired property.

Another reason to protect the land by making it fire-safe is to preserve property value.   For example, take a ten-year-old 4 bedroom 2,000 square foot home on 5 acres, appraised at $300,000.  The unimproved woodland around the house, which contains Ponderosa Pine mixed with oaks, has not undergone fuel reduction and has a heavy understory of brush.   Clearing has been done around the house and the building has the required 100’ clearance.  The land slopes upward from the county road, and the house is near the middle of the parcel.  An accidental ignition takes place just off the county road, and fire races up the hill toward the house.  The house remains intact, but most of the trees and vegetation beyond the 100 foot perimeter are lost.  The parcel looks stark and devastated.  The market value of the property has taken a large hit, even though the structures survived.  The assessed value for property tax purposes has been downgraded in proportion to the amount of vegetation destroyed.

 A different case:  assume the property owner performed brush removal, thinning, and limbing to make the surrounding 5-acre forest resilient to fire.  If a fire did occur and the fuel reduction work was properly done, there would be little lasting damage to the view scape, and the land would recover its park-like look in a year or two. 

When a landowner considers the dual issues of homeowner’s insurance and property value, it is easy to justify spending money to make the entire five acres resilient.  

Part One: Fire Ready Group in Mariposa County: Fire History in the Sierra Foothills
Part Two: Fire Ready Group in Mariposa County: Fire Safety and Volunteerism in the Mid-20th Century
Part Three: Fire Ready Group in Mariposa County: The Telegraph Fire Remembered

Part Four: Fire Ready Group in Mariposa County: Reducing the Fuel Load on Private Land

Below is a flyer for the First Annual Fire Ready Workshop to be held in Midpines on October 11, 2014.

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