Granite Bay Archives

Folsom Lake Park Ready To Explode With Fire

June 26, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Most of the homes that are most directly threatened by a fire at Folsom Lake are in Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills. There are only a few scattered homes above and around the Peninsula Campground. Ironically, it is the peninsula that has some of the best fire suppression features. There are more meadows with fewer trees. Fewer people visit the Peninsula Campground Park because it can be difficult to access, especially when towing a boat, from Highway 49. There are also wide dirt roads that act both as fire break and allow for fire trucks to reach areas burning. In contrast, large swaths of Folsom Park land in Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills have only small dirt footpaths with limited access for large fire trucks. There is more human activity in these areas as they are close to recreational access points.

San Juan Water District Granite Bay Rate Increases Reflect Real Costs Of Business

March 23, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

For years I have been at odds over how the San Juan Water District (SJWD) set their daily and metered rates for water in the Granite Bay area. Finally, SJWD is proposing a five-year rate structure that addresses the long term capital improvement needs of the district. The unfortunate 8% and 9% increase in the rates is a reflection of past Board decisions not to implement a stable rate structure for future maintenance, operations, and system upgrades.

Mapping The Folsom And Granite Bay Historic Railroad

February 26, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

It was a stroke of luck that I stumbled upon the original 1861 map of the Sacramento, Placer & Nevada Railroad (SPNRR) map in the California State Archives. With a digitized version of the original map, I could then compare the constructed rail line to modern roads and Folsom Lake shown on 20th century maps. While the 1861 and modern day maps don’t align perfectly, there are enough similarities to confirm suspicions of the route through the Folsom and Granite Bay areas.

Converting Backyard Acorns Into A Thanksgiving Side Dish

November 25, 2016 By Kevin Knauss 1 Comment

With just four Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia nee) in my backyard, I will usually rake up 2 to 3 wheelbarrow loads of acorns every fall. Until I started reading about Maidu Native Americans that lived in the Granite Bay area of California, I hadn’t considered acorns as a food source. After I had documented numerous Native American acorn grinding-hole sites around Folsom Lake, I figured that I should try and prepare some acorn mush that was a staple of the Native American diet prior to the gold rush of the 1850s.

Granite Bay should become a cycling friendly destination

September 9, 2016 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

For years, the rolling pastoral roads through Granite Bay have been a destination for road cyclists. It is not uncommon to see 5 to 10 bikes riding the narrow country roads through Granite Bay. But as cycling grows in popularity, Granite Bay should embrace its identity as a cycling destination by creating wider road shoulders for safer cycling travel.

Pictures and history of Folsom Lake and American River during the drought

August 10, 2016 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

As the lake level drops, the history is revealed. As Folsom Lake hit record low water levels in 2015, a whole lot of history was revealed. A drought shrunken Folsom Lake of 2015 was the highlight for a guy like me who had been hiking around the reservoir for years looking for historical sites. After numerous hikes around the North and South Forks of the American River at Folsom Lake, I finally organized my photographs and historical research into a book, Hidden History Beneath Folsom Lake – Hiking Across a Dry Lake in Time of Drought.

FEMA wiped out my home value with new flood maps in Granite Bay

June 20, 2016 By Kevin Knauss 4 Comments

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with Placer County have released new flood hazard maps and my house is right in the middle of the floodway. According to the preliminary maps, my house never should have been built and I will be required to secure flood insurance if the preliminary flood maps are approved and become effective in June 2017. The new flood maps put the kiss of death on my ability to ever sell my house, my investment, my future. Thank you FEMA and Placer County.

Historic Rose and Rock Springs of Granite Bay

October 6, 2015 By Kevin Knauss 1 Comment

I had always noticed Rose Springs and Rock Springs marked on maps that encompassed the south Placer county region we know today as Granite Bay. It wasn’t until Folsom Lake hit historically low water levels that what I think are Rose and Rock springs became apparent to me.

Granite Bay goes brown to conserve water during 2015 Drought

June 23, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

As opposed to drought shaming I decided to highlight the many properties near Folsom Lake who were going the extra mile to conserve water during our nasty drought of 2015. The Granite Bay area and the San Juan Water District retail service area have been singled out for some of the highest per capita water use in […]

Killing grass with wrapping paper and mulch

February 27, 2015 By Kevin Knauss 9 Comments

In the winter of 2015 the time had come for me to make my front yard grass disappear. After researching various labor intensive methods of removing turf, I finally settled on smothering the grass with wrapping paper and shredded cedar mulch. While this isn’t a full proof method, killing the grass in place is […]

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