A nighttime brush fire near Mill Valley open space burned an area roughly 20 by 20 feet on Oct. 13. The Southern Marin Fire Protection District says prior fuel-clearing work prevented it from spreading uphill.
The fire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the area of Greenwood Way, adjacent to city open space, according to an SMFD news release posted Oct. 16. Mill Valley Police officers arrived first and worked alongside SMFD crews to protect nearby residents and investigate the scene.
The spot is near the same open space that burned above Hillside Avenue on July 27, when a 1.5-acre vegetation fire drew aircraft and mutual-aid crews, according to Mill Valley Briefing. After that fire, SMFD and the city began clearing dead brush along the Greenwood Way Steps, Lanes and Paths corridor and into the portion of the burn scar that falls within the Greater Mill Valley Fuel Break encircling the city.
The district credited that clearing with keeping the October fire from spreading up the steep slopes beside the trail.
SMFD credited funding from the Mill Valley Municipal Services Tax (MST) and the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA), a regional agency funded by the voter-approved 2020 Measure C parcel tax. In its Oct. 16 release, the district reported removing more than 210 tons of chipped material and clearing about 23.27 miles of Mill Valley streets so far this year to improve access.
The pattern echoes what the district reported after the July Hillside Avenue fire. SMFD believed earlier fuel-break work and other prevention measures helped slow that fire, Kim Huff told Mill Valley Briefing.
The Greater Mill Valley Fuel Break project encompasses a 673-acre area, according to its state environmental filing. MWPA’s project page describes a planned fuel break approximately 23 miles long, with additional vegetation management in adjacent areas.
Measure C funds wildfire prevention across participating Marin communities. The tax is scheduled to expire at the end of fiscal year 2029-30, according to its tax information page.
The cause of the Oct. 13 fire was not stated in the district's release. SMFD urged residents to keep their property and access routes cleared of brush.
