Board approves Truckee Good Neighbor Authority agreement to fund fuel-break work
July 14, 2026 | Nevada County, California
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The Nevada County Board of Supervisors on July 14 approved a 2026 Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) agreement to expand fuel-break and hazardous-fuels treatment around Truckee.
Alex Kibble Toll, the county's director of emergency services, described the agreement as an expansion of long-running collaboration with the Tahoe National Forest and the Truckee Fire Protection District. Alex Garrett, OES forestry project manager, said the 2026 Truckee GNA will fund treatments including mechanical thinning, mastication, limbing, chipping and follow-up pile burning where appropriate. Garrett said the primary project area identified covers about 300 acres between Jackass and Deerfield and is designed to improve evacuation outcomes along Highway 89 and in nearby neighborhoods.
The agreement packages $604,750 in federal funding with a $345,000 match from the Truckee Fire Protection District (Measure T funds). County staff asked the board to authorize the director of emergency services to execute the agreement and to amend the current fiscal-year budget to reflect the grant funding.
During Q&A, Jonathan Cook Fisher, Truckee district ranger for the Tahoe National Forest, said pile-burning typically requires two to three years for piles to reach appropriate dryness and that prescribed fire is the preferred tool where conditions and staffing permit. Fisher said the Truckee Ranger District uses targeted herbicide only in limited, site-specific situations and not as broad aerial spraying.
Supervisors raised questions about maintenance, biomass utilization and timelines; presenters said merchantable timber or chip sales are a hoped-for revenue stream to help sustain future maintenance, but the GNA itself does not obligate the county to long-term maintenance. The board moved, seconded and adopted the resolution approving the GNA by unanimous roll call.
The resolution authorizes execution of the 2026 Truckee fuel-break Good Neighbor Authority agreement, directs the auditor-controller to amend the fiscal-year budget and allows work under the agreement through Dec. 30, 2035.
Alex Kibble Toll, the county's director of emergency services, described the agreement as an expansion of long-running collaboration with the Tahoe National Forest and the Truckee Fire Protection District. Alex Garrett, OES forestry project manager, said the 2026 Truckee GNA will fund treatments including mechanical thinning, mastication, limbing, chipping and follow-up pile burning where appropriate. Garrett said the primary project area identified covers about 300 acres between Jackass and Deerfield and is designed to improve evacuation outcomes along Highway 89 and in nearby neighborhoods.
The agreement packages $604,750 in federal funding with a $345,000 match from the Truckee Fire Protection District (Measure T funds). County staff asked the board to authorize the director of emergency services to execute the agreement and to amend the current fiscal-year budget to reflect the grant funding.
During Q&A, Jonathan Cook Fisher, Truckee district ranger for the Tahoe National Forest, said pile-burning typically requires two to three years for piles to reach appropriate dryness and that prescribed fire is the preferred tool where conditions and staffing permit. Fisher said the Truckee Ranger District uses targeted herbicide only in limited, site-specific situations and not as broad aerial spraying.
Supervisors raised questions about maintenance, biomass utilization and timelines; presenters said merchantable timber or chip sales are a hoped-for revenue stream to help sustain future maintenance, but the GNA itself does not obligate the county to long-term maintenance. The board moved, seconded and adopted the resolution approving the GNA by unanimous roll call.
The resolution authorizes execution of the 2026 Truckee fuel-break Good Neighbor Authority agreement, directs the auditor-controller to amend the fiscal-year budget and allows work under the agreement through Dec. 30, 2035.
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