Fuel reduction projects are so critical because the amount of fuel on the landscape makes it very unsafe for firefighters to get in. Part of the strategy is to build in fuel breaks to give firefighters a safe stronghold. “The more work we can do in the forest to thin things out, the better chance we have of containing (the fires),” Peterson believes.

Last fall, one Peterson crew was working to help clean up from the Park Fire, a massive blaze that devastated large portions of Butte and Tehama counties during late summer 2024. Peterson points out that this U.S. Forest Service job, the Park Fire Emergency Integrated Resource contract, is the first of its kind in terms of the federal government starting the project so soon after the fire so that fiber can be utilized. The goal is clearing hazardous dead trees to make the roadside accessible and safe for public use. Peterson’s crew removes and sells the fiber while it’s still valuable, which hasn’t been the case in the past. “Most Forest Service burned salvage jobs have not been put out in a timely manner, leaving the wood to go bad,” he says.

That is one of the challenges after big fires: getting salvaged wood into the mills quickly. The Park Fire job, in a mixed conifer stand in mid-range elevation (3-5,000 ft.), is all-hands-on- deck, with as many as seven logging contractors working in this fire scar, racing to move the wood before it goes bad. The clock is ticking; they have about 18 months from the time it burned until the fiber is no longer suitable for manufacturing. Because of the dry climate, wood rot isn’t as much of an issue as bug infestation. Once the timber is damaged and distressed, flathead bores move in and start eating holes in the wood, damaging its structural integrity.