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C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 171 • Issue 137 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Caldor Fire: Congress demands answers Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
near Omo Ranch and razed hundres of homes in Grizzly Flat. A collaborative investigation between news outlets CapRadio and The California Newsroom makes the case that the Forest Service failed to deliver on its plan to protect the town, despite its warnings 20 years ago that a wildfire could wipe out the small community. “In light of the recent investigation by CapRadio and the California Newsroom — and the billions of dollars that Congress has recently provided for hazardous fuels projects — we request that
Members of Congress are inquiring about a failed U.S Forest Service plan that could have saved Grizzly Flat from being destroyed by the Caldor Fire. In a Nov. 18 letter to Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, lawmakers demand answers on shortcomings of the Forest Service’s Trestle Forest Health Project, meant to remove 15,000 acres of fire fuels to protect the town from potential wildfire. The Caldor Fire started in the Eldorado National Forest
“… the length of delays with regard to the Trestle Forest Health Project are particularly egregious and raise broader concerns.” — Federal legislators in a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore
you provide us with a detailed briefing regarding the failed implementation of the Trestle Project, which experts have determined could have saved the town and spared its residents,” states the letter. The Forest Service launched a vegetation management project in 2017. CapRadio reported the Forest Service completed
Central EDH Plan
O, Chr istmas trees
Retroactive contract gets the green light Noel Stack Managing editor After much criticism and a touch of finger-pointing the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors approved retroactively amending a contract with the consultant performing environmental work for the Central El Dorado Hills Specific Plan. The 3-2 vote authorizes the county to pay ICF Jones and Stokes Inc. more than $63,000 for work already completed but over the original $152,637 contract amount and designates an additional $46,060 for future work; 100% of the funding comes from the project applicant, Parker Development Co. At issue and much debated were the apparent process and communication breakdowns that led to a retroactive contract amendment coming before the board and the fact that county staff and board members weren’t alerted to the problem when it was discovered months earlier. “The fact that we weren’t notified is very concerning and … it feels like it was intentional,” board Chair/District 4 Supervisor Lori Parlin said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me,” District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo said to Planning and Building Director Karen Garner. “We should have had
more clarity and more communication from your department.” Garner told supervisors the problem stemmed from two changes. Late last year the county’s planning manager handling the CEDHSP left and no immediate replacement stepped in so staff suffered some “information loss,” the director shared. Around the same time, she continued, ICF implemented a new invoicing system, “which wasn’t functioning well and we actually weren’t receiving invoices, starting at the beginning of the year.” After some back and forth with the consultant, the county didn’t get caught up until May of this year. “(We) realized we had already exceeded the contract amount at that time,” Garner said. The explanation didn’t sit well with supervisors or county AuditorController Joe Harn, who told the Mountain Democrat ICF was required, per its contract, to submit monthly reports — which were not received. “The contract administrator, you would think, who is managing this contract would note that no invoices were being mailed,” Harn said at Tuesday’s meeting. “If we don’t get a PG&E bill for four months we’re aware.” The auditor maintained that Planning and Building staff should have given his office, the Chief Administrative Office n
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Photos by Cecilia Clark
Community members were busy decorating Placerville’s Christmas Tree Lane on Highway 50 Saturday morning in preparation for the Festival of Lights that will officially kick off the holiday season Friday night. The Ryen family of Placerville went with doughnuts and the color pink, a theme suggested by sisters Freya, 4, and Coral, 6. n see more photos on page 8
See contract, page A7
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14% of the project before the Caldor Fire sparked Aug. 14, 2021. The completion date for the project was set for 2020. The letter signed by congressional members Alex Padilla, Zoe Lofgren, Mark DeSaulnier, Doug LaMalfa, Jimmy Panetta, Mark DeSaulnier, Katie Porter, Mike Thompson, Scott Peters, Tony Cardenas, Salud
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Carbajal, Jared Huffman, Adam Schiff and Sen. Dianne Feinstein requested explanations on the Forest Service’s delays on the project. “Though we understand the administrative and environmental hurdles facing forest management projects — including staffing shortages, funding challenges, climate change and endangered species concerns — the length of delays with regard to the Trestle Forest Health Project are particularly egregious and raise broader concerns,” states the letter.
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