USDA Forest Service Kern River Ranger District Engine Station Relocation, Lake Isabella, CA

This project constructed a new engine station to house and maintain forest fire fighting trucks to serve the Lake Isabella area. The project included constructing a fire station with administration offices, fire engine parking, support, maintenance & repair, an interim visitor information center, and hazardous material storage. A standing seam metal roof was provided for shedding snow loads. The building was designed with emergency back-up power supply, ground source heat pump, solar panels, and other energy conserving measures.

During the bidding for this project, MZT was notified that the area was carved out by the ebb and flow of glaciers during the ice age. For this reason, MZT expected to encounter large boulders, up to the size of a house. During the site preparation and earthwork stage of the project, MZT’s team encountered three deposited boulders that were the size of a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. Rather than trucking them off site, they were relocated and partially buried to be incorporated as landscape features. This value-engineered solution was possible through close coordination among all project stakeholders. Because of this solution, the USDA Forest Service saved boulder relocation costs and increased the aesthetic appeal of the landscaping.