Castle Crags Defensible Space and Hardening

This project proposes structure hardening improvements and defensible space fuels reduction in Castle Crags State Park to reduce wildfire risk and increase structural resilience within the park. Work will prioritize identified high-risk and mission-critical facilities essential to park operations. At the Visitor Center, a Day Use Restroom, a Maintenance Shop, and three (3) park residence, work will include the following: • Replace existing wood shake shingles with Class A fire-rated roofing materials consistent with existing roofing within the park; • Within 5-ft of park structures, remove all landscaping shrubs and replace combustible bark with noncombustible, weed-resistant hardscape materials to prevent embers from igniting vegetation and spreading to structure; • Where shrubs remain, create spacing between shrubs to establish breaks between the fuel continuity; • Repair and patch holes in siding to reduce ember intrusion potential; • Replace rotten wood doors with metal doors and install weather stripping on doors/garage doors to seal and eliminate entry points for embers; • Replace all deteriorated fascia boards; • Replace existing vent screens with Chapter 7 A compliant ember-resistant screening; and • Install Chapter 7 A compliant screening to enclose the underside of any exposed wood decking to prevent ember accumulation and debris. This project will establish and maintain defensible space zones in compliance with State and Department guidelines by reducing vegetation and fuel continuity within a minimum of 100-ft surrounding structures within the park, lowering overall fire intensity potential near structures. These improvements in conjunction with defensible space and fuel reduction treatments around structures will create a comprehensive, layered wildfire risk reduction strategy for park infrastructure.