FORT JONES NEWS | WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS · 2026 — CAL FIRE filed an April 3, 2026 environmental notice for a major vegetation-management project on private land within and around Fort Jones in Siskiyou County. The project would reduce hazardous fuels on approximately 325 acres, including areas east of town and near State Route 3.
Where crews are expected to work
According to CAL FIRE, the project includes a shaded fuel break up to 500 feet wide along a complex of ridgelines east of Fort Jones. Additional work is planned in heavily vegetated land between the eastern edge of the community and the break in the slope. The objective is to improve access for emergency crews and give residents more usable evacuation corridors.
What fuel reduction means
The agency describes selective thinning of brush and small trees under ten inches in diameter, with a general goal of approximately 30 feet between retained trees in treated areas. The proposal aims to reduce surface, ladder and crown fuels that can carry a fire into trees. The stated approach is not wholesale clearing of all wooded land near the town.
What is approved and what remains unknown
The official Notice of Exemption documents CAL FIRE’s environmental determination and a defined proposed scope. It is not evidence that all 325 acres have been completed or that the measures eliminate wildfire danger. Residents still need accurate maps, a treatment schedule and any temporary restrictions affecting the roads and properties included.
How residents can participate
Property owners and people using Highway 3 can request project boundaries, treatment methods, disposal plans, long-term maintenance requirements and implementation updates from CAL FIRE. Fort Jones News will follow official results separately from initial approvals.
Official primary source
CAL FIRE — Fort Jones Fuel Reduction Project, April 3, 2026.
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