TWIN LAKES VILLAGE - It wasn't the peaceful walk David Irvine had in mind.

The Twin Lakes resident was recently stunned to find a crew removing smaller trees and brush for fire and wildlife hazard protection near his home and along a nature trail and Highway 41 north of Rathdrum.

"It used to be a forest; now it's a park," Irvine said, adding that the thinning project is within 2 feet of his property. "No prior notification was given - they just came in and started to do it. Our privacy edge is gone. We can now see the highway traffic and they can see us.

"We'll get all the highway noise with the vegetation being gone."

That vegetation, in the eyes of the county, fire districts, Idaho Transportation Department and other agencies, makes the area ripe for catastrophic fires and wildlife-vehicle collisions so that's why it's being removed in the state right of way.

"A fire break is being created," said Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management Manager Sandy Von Behren, who met with concerned property owners on Thursday to discuss the project.

Von Behren said the lack of prior notification to some Twin Lakes-area residents was an oversight so that's why she organized the meeting.

"The project manager did go to some homes, but not all of them," she said. "He is approaching all property owners directly adjacent to this break if they haven't been contacted already. We do want to ensure adjacent homeowners are notified and that they understand the benefits of the program."

Irvine said he understands the intent of the program, but believes it goes too far with removing trees and brush.

"I agree with the concept, but I think it's a little too radical," he said. "Instead of thinning out the forest, they're creating a park and we don't need a park out here.

"We'll just have to live with it. We're acquiescing in the face of authority."

Von Behren said FireSmart projects are not "clear cuts" as the larger trees are left. Ground areas that are disturbed will be replanted into grass.

"It looks more like a parklike setting when it's done," she said.

John Perfect of ITD, which approved the permit for the project, said the thinning will encourage more desirable trees to grow and gives the roads more sun to melt snow and ice faster. It also reduces the chance for fallen trees in roads and a fire starting due to vehicle sparks or cigarettes.

"Certainly, visually, it's a big change," Perfect said. "But it's not a random act. They're trying to do the right thing."

The project, expected to take two to three months, only runs on the west side of Highway 41 because there's not a wide enough right of way on the east side to have an effective impact, Von Behren said.

Von Behren said some residents have expressed an interest in the FireSmart program in other areas around their property and, if funding is available, that's a possibility.

This year's FireSmart program, administered by the OEM in collaboration with several other agencies, is being funded with a $165,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The agencies, which make up the Wild Urban Interface Task Force, provide a match of $16,500 of in-kind services.

A similar project, also paid with the funds, will be performed on the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene this year.

Recent FireSmart projects have included along Highway 54 between Spirit Lake and Farragut State Park, wooded areas near Lakeland High in Rathdrum, on Kathleen Avenue near Coeur d'Alene High and around the Coeur d'Alene Rifle Club off Atlas Road.

More than $4 million have been spent on such projects in the area since 2002.

"If people want to see what the area (along Highway 41) will look like in the next few years, drive along Highway 54 and you'll see spots where work has and hasn't been done," Perfect said. "In my personal opinion, it looks nice."

No, the wood isn't free

• Wood cut for FireSmart thinning projects along area highways is not free for residents to stop by and pick up, but actually helps pay for the project. The county has had reports of residents helping themselves along Highway 41. For more information on FireSmart projects, visit www.firesmart.kcgov.us or call project manager Steve Bloedel at 661-9405. Citizens are encouraged to become part of the local fire mitigation task force. If interested, call 446-1775.