Pepperwood Springs was carved out of the McCush Ranch, where sheep were once reared. The watershed was logged in the 1960's supplying Douglas Fir timber to the Stud Mill in Piercy.

Our road was included in an early subdivision project of local developers Jim Johnson and Kenny Wallan. Developed from timber haul roads, other old roads became driveways or were abandoned, many decaying roads still cross the uninhabited North East side of our small unnamed mountain.

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Forest regeneration has seen successions of plant  species, from Gooseberry, Coyote Brush, Black Cap Raspberries, Poison Oak Bracken Fern, Manzanita, and Whitethorn that sheltered tree seedlings of Tan oak, Live oak, Madrone, Bay laurel- AKA Pepperwood, and Douglas Fir. As the forest matures brush continues to spread to  open grassy meadows and roadsides.

Scotch broom has migrated to parts of the road from the county road that abuts the sub-division where it has become endemic.

Species choked by shade, standing dead and broken, scrubby thickets of Fir and Oak and storm damaged trees have contributed to an extreme fuel load in the watershed.

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Though lying just outside of Piercy Fire Protection District Boundaries Pepperwood Springs residents do support the volunteer Fire department, and many in the past have been Piercy volunteer firefighters. Awareness of risk, and on going mitigation efforts are pursued by residents.

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PFPD has hosted an annual Fire safe event that has instilled a common ethos of creating defensible space through fuel reduction, installing address placards and water storage. with planning for communication, contact lists and other resources  have been distributed.

As awareness was raised, access for our dead-end road was identified as a concern and a route has been reestablished through private property to a connecting road, for emergency traffic use.

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