April 1, 2024

The Douds Fuels Reduction Project is adjacent to and includes portions of the Douds Community, approximately three miles south of Arnold in Calaveras County. It is bounded by New McKays Dam Road on the north, SPI lands on the west, steep lands of the North Fork Stanislaus River on the south, and USFS lands on the east. The elevation range is roughly 3,680 feet – 4,120 feet. Reducing fuels in the project area will provide protection to the Douds community from fires emanating from the North Fork Stanislaus River (historical fire patterns). The project area is located within the Cal Water Hydrologic Unit: #18040010; Stanislaus River. Situated on the rim of the North Fork Stanislaus River, the Douds Fuels Reduction project is integral to the Highway 4 Strategic Wildfire Defense System.

The project area includes 158 acres of private land consisting of 24 parcels with 11 habitable structures. The site includes a mixture of Sierran hardwood and conifer species. The fuels reduction treatment will be a mixture of pruning, thinning and mechanical mastication or hand work with chipping on site, targeting ladder fuels (brush and small trees).