It once stretched for some 800 miles, from Oregon to Kern County. It was a big project for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, but it is largely forgotten today. On this edition of KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of the Ponderosa Way.
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Pondersoa Way was what wildfire experts call a fuel break – a continuous linear area where all brush and fuel has been removed. The idea is to stop a wildfire, or provide a position for crews to take on the firefight.
Work began on the project in 1933, soon after President Franklin Roosevelt launched the Civilian Conservation Corps. Up to 4,800 workers cut trees and removed brush, building roads and bridges, as part of the project. In most places the fuel break was between 50 to 200 feet wide. It was located around the elevation where oak woodland and chaparral gives way to the mixed conifer forest. It stretched from the Cascades all the way to the Kern River. Government officials described it as a "safety belt" to keep fires from the lowlands from spreading into the forest.
Ponderosa Way was maintained by the federal government until 1942 with the outbreak of the Second World War. Eventually responsibility shifted to the state, then back to the federal government, but over time, the fire break became poorly or inconsistently maintained. In some places Ponderosa Way became overgrown and was reclaimed by mother nature. In others, it became a road, or a part of other fire control efforts.
So the big question: did it work? Well, it’s hard to say. Just one year after it was completed federal officials with the CCC touted its effectiveness, telling the Fresno Bee it cut firefighting expenses in half, and saved $300,000. Modern fire experts though have questioned its effectiveness in stopping a massive blaze, like the ones that have become all too common in recent years.
