Los Gatos group collaborates on reducing wildfire risk

One group is clearing hundreds of forestland acreage in one of the largest wildfire risk reduction projects in Santa Clara County.The Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaboration began testing tools to clear brush and restore the forest’s ecosystem on 155 acres along Montevina Road a little more than a week ago. The effort is part of a larger initiative to treat 840 acres of forestland in the Santa Cruz Mountains and prevent wildfires in the high-risk zone near the Lexington Reservoir.

The collaboration, which recently received a $6.9 million Cal Fire grant for the work, includes Midpeninsula Regional Open Space Preserve, San Jose Water and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and parks department.New fire safety technology is boosting the work, including remote-controlled machines that thin the overcrowded forest floor by mulching and chipping brush.



This equipment enables fire mitigation experts to clear hard to reach areas. The work is expected to finish by fall 2027.FireSafe Council CEO Seth Schalet said joining forces with the landowners, including San Jose Water, Midpen and the county park system, will help speed the necessary work along.

Schalet’s team also uses artificial intelligence to detect fires early in the Santa Cruz Mountains and prevent devastation. The CZU lightning complex fires in 2020 burned more than 86,000 acres, including land in the Santa Cruz mountains.“Collaboratively, we want to think about how we can get more acres protected and ensure that, ultimately, we’re reducing the risk,” Schalet told San José Spotlight.

“If a fire happens, hopefully, the goal is that we can reduce the intensity and severity.” Related Stories March 27, 2025 Los Gatos services could be hit by federal funding cuts January 24, 2025 West Valley city with highest fire risk seeks emergency manager September 23, 2024 Los Gatos homeowners risk losing fire insurance This is the second grant Cal Fire has awarded the collaboration, which started in 2020. It received a $7.

5 million forest health grant in 2021, which it used to treat 1,000 acres in the mountains bordering Los Gatos.That work helps protect residents like Sarah Johnston, who has called the small mountain community of Aldercroft Heights in the Lexington Hills home for more than 25 years. She helped it get Firewise USA certification, a nationwide program that recognizes communities that reduce wildfire risk.

She said the community experienced several arson-related fires last year that moved more slowly after hitting land the collaboration had already cleaned up.“Having the support of agencies like the Santa Clara (County) FireSafe Council, who are helping to empower residents to help themselves, is just incredibly critical,” Johnston told San José Spotlight. “There’s so much work that everybody needs to be doing, and we can’t just be relying on the fire agencies or these big landowners.

”The collaboration aims to receive a third Cal Fire grant to continue protecting the land after treating the 840 acres.Ryan McCauley, Midpen spokesperson, said the work is important for fire safety, but also helps the mountains’ native species, including the imperiled Santa Cruz kangaroo rat. He said the Santa Cruz Mountains are the lungs of the Bay Area that the community needs.

“(It) helps if you’re out there physically getting exercise, but also just the mental health benefits,” McCauley told San José Spotlight. “Your anxiety decreases, your mood changes, feelings of loneliness can decrease, just feeling like you’re part of nature.”Johnston said she’s grateful for a seat at the table during this work.

“(Collaboration) is the direction where people need to go,” she said. “Fire knows no boundaries of land ownership.”Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.

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