TEHAMA COUNTY, California — October 29, 2026. CAL FIRE has filed plans for a 331-acre shaded fuel break along Inskip Road and Lanes Valley Road in the foothills of eastern Tehama County. The Notice of Exemption, posted October 28, 2026, describes treatment in a corridor approximately 300 feet wide, measured as 150 feet on either side of its proposed centerline.

Where would crews work?

The agency locates the project about 1.5 miles north of Paynes Creek and four miles west of Manton, on private lands with grass–oak woodland and smaller areas of ponderosa pine. Elevations are estimated at approximately 1,100 to 3,100 feet. The corridor is intended to build upon features established during suppression of the 2024 Park Fire.

How would vegetation be treated?

According to the agency, crews could thin brush and small trees by hand and mechanically, chip or pile cut vegetation, and conduct burning of piles when authorized. The plan focuses on surface and ladder fuels and proposes pruning larger retained trees. Herbicide treatment and future maintenance entries are also described to limit regrowth. These are proposed treatment methods, not confirmation that each method is underway today.

Why a shaded fuel break?

The purpose of a shaded fuel break is to reduce continuous vegetation that can carry fire, while retaining a more open arrangement of larger trees. It can give firefighters a more favorable location to work. It is not a guarantee that a wildfire will stop at the corridor, nor does it replace home defensible space, reliable evacuation alerts or access planning.

Does this filing order residents to evacuate?

No. This is a planned vegetation management project, not an active incident or evacuation notice. Landowners near the corridor should seek project boundaries and permitted access details from CAL FIRE before assuming work will occur on their parcel. The agency lists forester Devin Eastman at (530) 528-5116.

Primary source: California State Clearinghouse SCH 2026101071, Inskip–Lanes Valley Fuel Break, filed October 28, 2026. The filing cites a categorical exemption; its existence does not independently establish the project’s completion.

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