Placer County partners with indigenous group to boost wildfire resilience in Foresthill Divide
The county is teaming up with the nonprofit Indigenous Futures Society to enhance wildfire resilience in the Foresthill Divide, an area officials have flagged as high risk for wildfires.
The project, funded by a $161,000 grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, takes a unique approach to forest management by incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practices.
A key part of the initiative is the use of "cultural burning," a traditional technique that reduces fuel buildup while improving biodiversity and soil health.
"It's much lower intensity," said Albert Brian Wallace, CEO of the Indigenous Futures Society. "The goal is not necessarily just fuel reduction but it's also cultural, biological regeneration. It's more of a restorative strategy that has more long-term outcomes and results and impacts."
This collaboration is part of a broader 10-year action plan to improve forest health throughout the Sierra Nevada. Over the past year, Placer County has also introduced artificial intelligence tools to help pinpoint wildfire-prone areas, particularly those near critical infrastructure like Interstate 80, the Union Pacific rail line, and rural communities.
The Foresthill Divide project marks the first time the county has formally partnered with an Indigenous organization to implement traditional ecological knowledge in wildfire planning.
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