Truckee Fire awards contract to reduce wildfire risk across 85 acres in the Pine Forest and Coachland area
Measure T and Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation - Forest Futures funding will support forest management and fuel reduction near neighborhoods, Alder Creek Middle School and key evacuation routes
TRUCKEE, Calif. (Oct. 27, 2026) – Truckee Fire Protection District has awarded a contract to Sierra Land Improvement Inc. to complete the Pine Forest-Coachland Fuel Reduction Project across 85 acres of forest thinning and fuels reduction around the Pine Forest, Village Camp, Coachland and Spring Creek neighborhoods, Alder Creek Middle School, Pioneer Commerce Center and the southern edge of Prosser Heights. The district’s board of directors approved the award at its Oct. 20 meeting.
The project will thin dense stands of trees and remove overgrown brush and dead vegetation while retaining larger, healthy trees. The work is designed to reduce how intensely a wildfire could burn within and next to these neighborhoods, support defensible space around nearby homes and improve emergency access and evacuation routes. Much of the project area sits just north of the Pioneer Center complex and Comstock Drive.
“This is about reducing wildfire risk where the forest intermingles with homes, a school and the roads people rely on every day,” said Truckee Fire Wildfire Prevention Manager Eric Horntvedt. “By thoughtfully removing smaller trees and clearing dense brush, we can reduce the vegetation that feeds a fire while keeping larger, healthy trees, improving forest health, reducing fire intensity and giving firefighters better conditions to work in.”
Project at a glance
Size: 85 acres of noncommercial forest management and fuels reduction
Contractor: Sierra Land Improvement Inc., at $210,375 ($2,475 per acre)
Total project budget: $231,413, including a 10% contingency
Funding: $131,413 from Measure T and a $100,000 Forest Futures grant from the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation
Treatment: hand and low-impact mechanical thinning of most trees 16 inches in diameter or smaller, keeping larger, healthy trees, followed by chipping and mastication of brush; no burn piles
Timeline: Work commenced on October 26, 2026 and will be completed by June 30, 2027
Truckee Fire Forester Dillon Sheedy designed the project, securing right-of-entry agreements with multiple landowners across the project area, completing an archaeological records search and site survey, and setting the treatment prescription and environmental permitting. The project is permitted under a California Environmental Quality Act categorical exemption.
The project involves land owned by Truckee Donner Land Trust, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Village Camp Truckee, Pine Forest Owners Association, Spring Creek Truckee HOA, and multiple small private landowners.
Contractor interest was strong. Eighteen prospective bidders attended a mandatory project tour Sept. 23, and the district received nine proposals.
What residents can expect
Because the work takes place within developed neighborhoods, residents may see equipment, crews and signage in the area, along with occasional traffic control and temporary limits on trail access near active work zones. The contractor will post signs and use spotters to keep the public clear of active operations and is required to work with extra care around trails. Work near Alder Creek Middle School may take place while school is in session. Chips and masticated material will be spread across the site rather than piled.
Pine Forest-Coachland is one of three Measure T forest management projects Truckee Fire is advancing in 2026, along with the Central Truckee WUI Phase 2 Forest Management Project and Donner Summit Firewise Roadside work. A project map is available at truckeefire.org/s/FinalMap_pineforest.pdf, and project updates at truckeefire.org/projects.