Information provided by the San Benito Fire Safe Council. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The San Benito Fire Safe Council was recently awarded a grant from PG&E to help make rural county roads more accessible for emergency vehicles and residents, especially if needed to serve residents or evacuate during a wildfire. The funding allows for work on these roads, designated as high priority:
- Payne Rd in San Juan Bautista
- Hillside Rd in San Juan Bautista
- Seely Ave in Aromas
- Snyder Ave in Aromas
The goal is to create a minimum of 20 feet wide by 14 feet tall space along the road to ensure safer ingress and egress. This may include:
- *Clearing vegetation encroaching on or near the roadway
- *Limbing overhanging and overhead tree limbs
- *Chipping brush and leaving along roadside and hauling large limbs away
The plan is to begin the work during the weeks of August 17 and August 24. SBFSC will post signs and distribute flyers before the work begins. The contractor will provide assistance in traveling the roadway during the roadwork, with signage and flagging personnel as needed. In most cases, the roads will be passable while the work progresses. The only exception will be for Payne Rd, which is very narrow. The contractor anticipates that Payne Rd will be closed to traffic for 4-6 hours, 9am-3pm, for one day. SBFSC will provide notification before this work begins.
Questions? Please reach out to the volunteer SBFSC board member and grants manager Beth Roybal at beth.roybal@gmail.com or 831-236-1951. Details about the projects and other ways to stay safe from wildfire are available on the SBFSC website: www.sbfsc.org.
If you have suggestions for San Benito County roads that could be included in future work to remove brush and overhanging limbs, please send the name of the road and location description/map to SanBenitoFireSafe@gmail.com. Include “future road suggestion” in the subject line.