EFM’s 40,000-acre Scott River Headwaters property (SRH) is experiencing a significant wildfire event that began approximately two weeks ago in the adjacent Marble Mountain Wilderness. Over 15,000 acres of land were impacted by the fire, about 10,000 of which are on the EFM property. It is estimated that 18% of the fire is contained as of July 18th, but the fire continues to burn and may grow in the coming days and weeks. With containment lines in place along the northern and eastern extents of the fire, the focus is beginning to shift to clean-up and assessment. The property is closed to public access.

Over the past several years, EFM has developed and implemented plans to address fire risk on the property in cooperation with CalFire, especially fires originating in the wilderness and sweeping down to valley communities. This work has included thinning, mastication, fuel reduction and most notably, the creation of a large fire break on the property near the town of Etna.

EFM is the first entity in over two decades to engage in active management and embark on a project of this scale on the property. The fuels reduction work and existing fire break contribute to the ongoing efforts to keep communities and property safe and create a defensible space for fire protection. EFM has also secured a conservation easement on the property which limits future development. Development in forest regions can lead to increased risk of fire and also hampers firefighting options.

EFM has three registered Improved Forest Management carbon projects, (ACR733, ACR 732, ACR734) on the SRH property. These projects increase forest carbon stocks by implementing activities that go above and beyond legal requirements, regulations, or common practices in this region. EFM has expanded voluntary buffers, created special wildlife areas, reduced the intensity of harvesting to build up forest inventory, and increased rotation ages via FSC-certified management.

EFM will not know the full extent of the impact on the carbon projects or the overall property until the fire is fully contained. We have notified ACR and are working with them cooperatively to evaluate the extent of a potential reversal and our ability to salvage dead trees to reduce fuel load and mitigate the risk of future fires. The ACR Buffer Pool (a risk-mitigation insurance pool of credits to which all projects contribute) will be used to ensure that any carbon credits lost from this fire will be replaced.

At this time, our thoughts are with the firefighters on the front lines and their families. We are grateful for their efforts to protect nearby communities, the Scott River Headwaters property, and adjacent public and private lands. We are supporting the fire response led by CalFire and the US Forest Service by providing maps and property access and making our team and resources available. Our staff and partners are on the ground cooperating with the various agencies working hard to protect the local community and environment.

We will continue to update stakeholders as more information develops.