MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2022

Beginning the week of June 6, San Mateo County Parks and the San Mateo Resource Conservation District will increase wildfire resiliency of Quarry Park and neighboring communities by treating up to 100 acres of dense fire fuels, including shrubs, small diameter trees, and hazardous trees, and creating a network of shaded fuel breaks along park fire roads and multi-use trails within the park.

This work is expected to last approximately 30 days and will require some trail closures Monday through Friday. Trail closures will be posted in the park. See a map of trails that may be potentially closed during this project.

Be Advised, Be Safe

During this project, equipment will operate in the park and along the park boundary that will generate noise and dust. The equipment used to remove dead or hazardous trees can throw debris several feet and can pose a safety hazard. You can help expedite this important work by obeying all road and trail closure signs and avoiding the project area.

Quarry Park Fuel Reduction

Shaded Fuel Break Along Fire Roads in Quarry Park & Mirada East

In summer 2021, the San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) received a $1 million grant from the State Coastal Conservancy to fund a 100-acre fire mitigation project in Quarry Park with two components: 1) thinning of understory vegetation within 100 feet of select trails to create shaded fuel breaks and 2) removal of hazard trees within 200 feet of select trails. Both project components will enhance first responders’ ability to quickly access the Park to conduct fire suppression and containment activities to slow the spread of fire to nearby residential communities, improving community wildfire resiliency. Because this project involves removal of non-native understory trees and hazard trees while retaining native shrubs and plants, it will also provide ecological benefits. This project was assigned a rank ID of 16 in the San Mateo County Parks Department’s Wildlife Fuel Management Program 2021-2016 Projects document.

In September 2021, the San Mateo County Parks Department and the San Mateo RCD initiated the project by hiring a contractor to create approximately nine acres of shaded fuel break along portions of the Quarry trail, Vista Point Trail, and Mirada East Fire Road. Crews removed eucalyptus, acacia, and cypress trees with a diameter of 10 inches or less, retaining as much native vegetation as possible. We anticipate that the next phase of work – thinning of understory vegetation on 40 additional acres to create shaded fuel breaks and removal of hazard trees on 100 acres – will begin in the spring. Following the completion of initial treatment, Parks Department staff will monitor the treated project areas and prescribe follow-up maintenance treatment, which will occur approximately every five years.

See a map of the project area »