Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council

The Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council (OSB FSC) was established in 2001 as a program of the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council.

Mission Statement

Help plan, implement and monitor the reinstatement of historic fire regimes, primarily through strategic fuels reduction, in a manner that protects life, property, improves forest health, and enhances the resources valued by its stakeholders. 

The OSB FSC has been awarded over $1 million in grant funding to support projects such as constructing shaded fuelbreaks, prescribed burning programs, community volunteer brushing and burning workdays, and a community “mow and chip” program. The OSB FSC has facilitated the construction of over 1,400 acres of shaded fuelbreaks, burned nearly 400 acres of private lands, and mowed approximately 60 acres annually as part of its “mow and chip” program. The OSB FSC has collaborated with the Humboldt County FSC as a participant in the FLASH program and the creation of the Orleans/Somes Bar Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which was completed in January 2012. the OSB FSC has also developed local capacity to implement prescribed burns to reduce their community’s risk to wildfire and developed several  videos that feature their work. Orleans has been an active Firewise Community since 2011 and was awarded a grand prizes of $5,000 in NFPA’s 2013 Firewise Challenge.