Major Project Completed At East Bay Park

CASTRO VALLEY, CA — A three-year project focused on hazardous fuels reduction in Anthony Chabot Regional Park is now complete, the East Bay Regional Park District announced Monday.

The "Climate Change Impacts Wildland Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project," which got underway in 2022, involved the thinning and removal of hazardous trees, including large-scale eucalyptus, and brush on a total of 667 acres in the park.

The work was done "to reduce fire intensity and help prevent catastrophic wildfires," according to park officials.

The project, which officials said involved the use of a climate-friendly carbonizer to dispose of debris, was prompted by an increase in "dead and dying trees" in recent years, as observed by EBRPD staff.

“Sudden tree die-off was an emergency for the Park District,” said Khari Helae, the East Bay Regional Park District's assistant fire chief. “We immediately saw the need to ramp up fuels reduction to mitigate the threat of potential wildfires. We can’t prevent all ignitions, but we can lower the intensity of fires by reducing fire fuels.”

It was necessary for eucalyptus trees in the park to be thinned and removed, Helae explained, because they are "notoriously flammable and difficult-to-handle."

"Thinning and removing eucalyptus is essential to slowing wildfires and giving firefighters time to stop them before they become out of control," he said. "Dead standing trees burn hotter and faster and can cast embers long distances, igniting new, potentially dangerous fires."

The project was funded through a combination of federal and state funds totaling approximately $12.5 million, according to park officials.

Similar hazardous fuels reduction efforts are in place for other East Bay parks, including Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park, Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve and Leona Canyon Open Space Regional Preserve.

For more information about the East Bay Regional Park District's projects, go here.