APPENDIX_1,_Fire_Plan_for_Line_Clearing.docx
DOCX document 28 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Professional Land Survey Services
- Solicitation number
- RFP-2023-0025
- Issued by
- Tuolumne County, Sereno Del Mar CDP, California
About this file
This is a Fire Plan appendix for survey line clearing operations conducted under a Master Stewardship Agreement between Tuolumne County and the USDA Forest Service, Stanislaus National Forest. The document establishes fire prevention and suppression requirements, operational responsibilities, and activity restrictions for contractor work involving tree and brush clearing with chainsaws and hand tools. The contractor must designate a fire supervisor, maintain required fire equipment including shovels, fire extinguishers, and wildland fire pumps, comply with spark arrester and muffler requirements on all motorized equipment, and report any fires to the Stanislaus Dispatch Center within 15 minutes of discovery. The fire precautionary period runs from April 1 through December 1 annually, during which smoking is prohibited except in cleared areas, parking and storage areas must be cleared of flammable materials to a 10-foot radius, and all employees must carry communication devices connecting to contractor headquarters. The contractor is responsible for preventing unauthorized fires, extinguishing fires resulting from contractor operations, and permitting Forest Service inspections for fire plan compliance.
Project Activity Levels (PAL) dictate operational restrictions based on fire danger ratings determined by the PAL Zone High South fire weather station, with restrictions ranging from minimal requirements at Level A to complete prohibition of chainsaw operations at Level E. At higher activity levels, chainsaw operations are restricted to morning hours (no work after 1:00 PM), and dead tree felling is prohibited except for recently dead trees. The contractor must obtain daily predicted activity level forecasts from the Ranger District Office at 209-533-1130 before commencing work. Historical data for the normal operating season of May 1 through October 31 indicates varying frequency of each PAL level by month, with July through September typically experiencing higher fire danger levels. All contractor activities must comply with applicable California Public Resource Codes and state law, with the Forest Service retaining discretionary authority to modify activity levels or conduct compliance inspections at any time.
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Text version
APPENDIX 1
FIRE PLAN FOR SURVEY LINE CLEARING
1. SCOPE:
a. The provisions set forth below outline the responsibility for fire prevention and suppression activities and establish a suppression plan for fires associated with contractor work. The provisions set forth below also specify conditions under which Contractor activities will be curtailed or shut down.
2. RESPONSIBILITIES:
a. Contractor
i. Shall abide by the requirements of this Fire Plan.
ii. Shall take all steps necessary to prevent his/her employees, sub-contractors and their employees from setting fires not required in completion of the agreement, shall be responsible for preventing the escape of fires set directly or indirectly as a result of Contractor operations, and shall extinguish all such fires.
iii. Shall permit and assist in periodic testing and inspection of required fire equipment. Contractor shall certify compliance with specific fire precautionary measures in the fire plan, before beginning operations during Fire Precautionary Period and shall update such certification when operations change.
iv. Shall designate in the Fire Plan and furnish on SPA Area, during operating hours, a fire supervisor authorized to act on behalf of the Contractor in fire prevention and suppression matters.
b. Forest Service
i. The Forest Service may conduct one or more inspections for compliance with the Fire Plan. The number, timing, and scope of such inspections will be at the discretion of agency employees responsible for agreement administration. Such inspections do not relieve the Contractor of responsibility for correcting violations of the fire plan or for fire safety in general, as outlined in paragraph 2.A above.
3. DEFINITIONS:
The following definitions shall apply:
a. Chainsaw Operations: The process of felling, trimming, or bucking trees or brush with electric or gas-powered chainsaws.
b. Hand Clearing Operations: The process of felling, trimming, or bucking trees or brush with hand saws or loppers.
4. TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT:
The Contractor shall comply with the following requirements during the fire precautionary period:
The Fire Precautionary Period is set by the State of California which is April 1 through December 1 of any year.
a. Fire Tools and Equipment:
Trucks, pickups and other similar mobile equipment shall be equipped with and carry at all times a size 0 or larger shovel with an overall length of not less than 46 inches, at least one 2.5lb fire extinguisher and a 5-gallon wildland fire pump.
b. Fire Extinguishers:
All Fire Extinguishers shall be mounted, readily accessible, properly maintained and fully charged.
c. Spark Arresters and Mufflers:
Every motor vehicle subject to registration shall at all times be equipped with an adequate exhaust system meeting the requirements of the California Vehicle Code.
d. Chain Saws:
Each chain saw shall be equipped with a spark arrester approved according to C.P.R.C. Section 4442 or 4443 and shall be maintained in effective working order. An Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved fire extinguisher containing a minimum 14 ounces of fire retardant shall be kept with each operating chain saw (gas or electric). In addition, a size 0 or larger shovel with an overall length of not less than 38 inches shall be kept with each gas can but not more than 300 feet from each chain saw (gas or electric).
5. GENERAL
a. State Law: In addition to the requirements in this Fire Plan, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws of the State of California. In particular, see California Public Resource Codes.
b. Smoking: Smoking shall not be permitted during fire season, except in a barren area or in an area cleared to mineral soil at least three feet in diameter. In areas closed to smoking, the CO may approve special areas to be used for smoking. The Contractor shall sign designated smoking areas. Contractor shall post signs regarding smoking and fire rules in conspicuous places for all employees to see. Contractor's supervisory personnel shall require compliance with these rules. Under no circumstances shall smoking be permitted during fire season while employees are operating light or heavy equipment, or walking or working in grass and woodlands.
c. Storage and Parking Areas. Parking areas, and gas and oil storage areas shall be cleared of all flammable material for a radius of at least 10 feet unless otherwise specified by local administrative unit.
d. Reporting Fires: As soon as feasible but no later than 15 minutes after initial discovery, Contractor shall notify Forest Service of any fires on work area or along roads used by Contractor. Contractor's employees shall report all fires as soon as possible to any of the following Forest Service facilities and/or personnel listed below, but not necessarily in the order shown:
| Name |
| Office Address |
| Office telephone |
| Dispatch Center |
| Stanislaus Dispatch |
| Sonora California |
| 209-533-1130 |
Inspector
COR
District Ranger
e. When reporting a fire, provide the following information:
Your Name:
Call back telephone number:
Project Name:
Location: Legal description (Township, Range, Section); and Descriptive location (Reference point) Fire Information: Including Acres, Rate of Spread and Wind Conditions.
f. Communications: Contractor shall furnish a serviceable telephone, radio-telephone or radio system connecting each operating side with Contractor's headquarters. When such headquarters is at a location which makes communication to it clearly impractical, Forest Service may accept a reasonable alternative location. The communication system shall provide prompt and reliable communications between Contractor's headquarters (or agreed to alternative) and Forest Service via commercial or Forest Service telephone.
The Contractor shall, prior to commencing work, furnish the following information relating to key personnel:
| Title |
| Name |
| Telephone Number |
Fire Supervisor
6. EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS
Contractor's Operations shall conform to the limitations or requirements in the Project Activity Level (PAL) table below. Project Activity Levels applicable to this project shall be the predicted activity levels for the Fire Danger Rating Area(s), or fire weather station(s) stated in the SPA Area Map Legend.
Fire Danger Rating Area/Fire Weather Station for Project: P.A.L. Zone High South
The Forest Service, in its sole discretion, may change the predicted activity level if the current fire suppression situation, weather and vegetation conditions warrant an adjustment. If practicable, Forest Service will determine the following day’s activity level by 6:00 PM. Contractor shall obtain the predicted Project Activity Level from the appropriate Ranger District Office before starting work each day.
Phone Number or Website to obtain Predicted Activity Level: 209-533-1130 (Stanislaus Dispatch Forest Service may change the Project Activity Level Table to other values upon revision of the National Fire Danger Rating System. When Contractor is notified, the revised Project Activity Levels will supersede the levels in the Project Activity Level Table below.
PROJECT ACTIVITY LEVEL
| Level |
| Project Activity Minimum Requirements and Restrictions. Restrictions at each level are cumulative. |
| A |
| Minimum Tools and Equipment listed in Item 4, a-d |
| B |
| Minimum Tools and Equipment listed in Item 4, a-d |
| C |
| Minimum Tools and Equipment listed in Item 4, a-d |
| D |
| 1. Minimum Tools and Equipment listed in Item 4, a-d |
2. No Dead Tree felling after 1:00 PM, except recently dead.
| Ev |
| 1. Minimum Tools and Equipment listed in Item 4, a-d |
2. No chainsaw (gas or electric) after 1:00pm.
| E |
| 1. No chainsaw (gas or electric) use allowed. |
2. Hand clearing permitted all day
This Project utilizes “The Project Activity Level” (PAL), an industrial operation’s fire precaution system. The following Climatology Chart indicates the Historic Activity Levels for the Project Fire Danger Rating Area or Fire Weather Station utilized on this Project. This is only a historical average of the Activity Levels for the identified Fire Danger Rating Area or Weather Station.
The Project Activity Level (PAL), and industrial operations fire precaution system will be used for this project. The PAL Zone High South RAWS will be used to calculate the Project Activity Level. The normal operating season is May 1 through October 31. The expected days per month at each PAL value for the normal operation season is shown in the following table:
Project Activity Level 2010
| Station/SIG/Unit: |
| PAL Zone High South |
| STF |
| Years Analyzed: 2009-2011 |
| A |
| B |
| C |
| D |
| Ev |
| E |
| Month |
| Expected Days per Month at each PAL Level |
| April |
| 24 |
| 4 |
| 2 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| May |
| 23 |
| 5 |
| 2 |
| 2 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| June |
| 12 |
| 9 |
| 9 |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| July |
| 0 |
| 4 |
| 17 |
| 6 |
| 4 |
| 0 |
| August |
| 0 |
| 1 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 9 |
| 0 |
| September |
| 0 |
| 2 |
| 7 |
| 9 |
| 12 |
| 0 |
| October |
| 7 |
| 6 |
| 16 |
| 2 |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| November |
| 10 |
| 8 |
| 6 |
| 4 |
| 1 |
| 0 |
Last revised: July 2022
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