ORFSC_Merch

Omo Ranch began as a Miwok Indian Village. The Miwok maintained a healthy forest by allowing ground fires to burn, which manage the forest understory. The prolific natural resource discoveries of mining, lumber, and marble resulted in a population explosion. As the new communities grew multiple fires resulted making rebuilding a community effort. Federal Fire Policies halted the practice of prescribed burning in the early 20th Century. Banning this practice resulted in extremely dense forest growth. To address this danger, The Pioneer Volunteer Fire Department and Pioneer Volunteer Firefighters Association (PVFA) were established in the 1960s. Later in 1982 The Pioneer Fire Protection District was formed. Unfortunately in the 1990s the Volunteer Firefighters were disbanded due to potential risk factors as stated by the insurance policies/companies. The 21st Century currently experiences the threat of dense vegetation in California’s dry, hot climate and recognizes the need to make changes in our daily lives. In 2018 The Omo Ranch Fire Safe Council was established as a community effort to educate and implement best fire safety practices such as the value of Native Americans' low-slow burns creating non-laddering understory for healthy forests, home hardening and defensible space.