Roy Jones, the acting U.S. Forest Service representative covering Trinity County, updated the board on staffing and field operations for the upcoming fire season.
Jones said seasonal fire staff have been hired and are transitioning to summer schedules; "they'll be working 08:30 to 1800 or 6PM, 7 days a week," he told the board. He reported a helicopter contract coming on in Lewiston late in May, lookouts returning on rotating schedules, and that crews are preparing fuel‑reduction and risk‑reduction treatments as part of projects in Big Ranch, North Trinity and Hyampom.
On forest-products work, Jones said a small Mule timber sale of roughly 100 acres along Highway 3 is expected to be advertised soon and that a previously planned timber sale around Jackass Campground is moving to implementation pending bidder selection. He described ongoing reforestation across thousands of acres and said some implementation tasks (including mulching and slash disposal) depend on contractor availability and equipment from nearby districts.
Jones described an agency administrator prescribed‑fire workshop and potential broadcast burns in local community forests, noting that burns are weather dependent and part of a regional training series. He also said recreation crews are preparing campgrounds, cabins and boat docks for the summer season and that a Mendocino unit’s curtain burner was temporarily made available to clear residual slash at a thinning site.
Board members asked site‑specific questions about boat docks and trails. Jones said some details are still being finalized and that partners and contractors are at various planning and implementation stages. The update did not include formal decisions or new county funding commitments.