A letter to US Forest Officials urging them to reduce hazardous fuels on public lands in Nevada County will get some revisions before it is mailed.  Supervisor Hank Weston, a former Fire Chief, wrote the draft that was presented to the full board of Supervisors at yesterday’s meeting.  Public lands occupy nearly 35 percent of the land in Nevada County with a checkerboard pattern of isolated parcels of federal and state lands intermixed with private property. While homeowners are required by state law to treat the hazardous vegetation around their homes to meet defensible space standards, the State and Federal governments are not mandated to reduce the hazardous fuels conditions on public property.   Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn took exception to parts of the letter that suggest  Federal lands are choked with unmanaged vegetation and constitute the largest fire threat to public safety.

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The letter will be revised and brought before the board again next week.