BLM to begin prescribed fire projects in northeast California, northwest Nevada
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ALTURAS, Calif. – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management’s Applegate Field Office in Alturas will be conducting pile-burning projects during the fall and winter months. Crews will ignite fires only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.
The piles of brush, small trees and limbs were created during juniper and brush removal projects designed to improve rangeland health and wildlife habitat, and to reduce wildfire dangers.
“These projects are an important part of our work to keep public lands healthy and productive,” said Field Manager Craig Drake, BLM Applegate Field Office.
In these projects, crews will burn piles built by hand (they are about six feet high and six feet around), and piles built by heavy equipment such as bulldozers and other machines (these are about 30 feet high and 30 feet around). Projects will include:
- Modoc Gulch: Teams will burn machine-built piles over an 800-acre area of public lands near the community of Dorris in eastern Siskiyou County.
- Vya: The burning project consists of 50 acres of piles on 49 Mountain and 250 acres of piles near Calcutta. Both areas are in northwest Nevada, east of Cedarville, California. The hand-built piles are from earlier projects to reduce juniper encroachment into sage-steppe habitats important for Greater Sage-grouse.
- Williams Ranch: The project will burn hand-constructed piles in a 500-acre area west of Madeline, California. These piles resulted from work to improve fire protection for the Madeline community and to improve livestock grazing conditions.
- Bryant Mountain/Bloody Point: Crews will burn machine-constructed juniper piles in an 800-acre project area. The burning is part of a project to reduce wildfire threat and improve grazing conditions.
- Westside: The project will involve burning brush piles in a 700-acre area south and west of Alturas, California. These machine-built piles were created during projects to improve fire safety for the community.
Projects could also include pile burning near the community of Day and near Yankee Jim. These project sites are near Fall River Mills and Likely, California, respectively.
Smoke may be visible from communities near the projects. More information is available by telephoning the Applegate Field Office at 530-233-4666.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.