BLM to oversee pile burning in Pine Hill Preserve
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EL DORADO HILLS, Calif – The Bureau of Land Management will oversee pile burning on approximately 20 acres in the Cameron Park Unit of the Pine Hill Preserve in El Dorado County in the coming months. Burn operations are scheduled to start this week and will take roughly 30 days until the end of April, depending on weather, air quality and resource availability.
The prescribed burn will be conducted in cooperation with CalFire as crews cut brush to maintain existing fuel breaks. Fuel breaks must be periodically maintained to be effective. The goal of the prescribed burn is to reduce available hazardous fuels, which could feed wildland fire. Emergency and fire suppression equipment will be onsite. Smoke may be visible in Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs and along U.S. Highway 50.
Public lands managed by the BLM Mother Lode Field Office will remain open during pile burning. The pile burn is part of a multi-year, phased approach to vegetation management within the Pine Hill Preserve that includes manual cutting, chipping and mechanical brush removal, as well as maintaining fuel breaks and expanding them where appropriate.
The Pine Hill Preserve encompasses nearly 5,000 acres of unique geology and special soil known as gabbro soil, which was formed 175 million years ago when magma cooled slowly. Roughly 10 percent of California’s native plants are found at the Preserve, which is home to nearly 750 different types of plants, including eight rare species, five of which are federally listed, and found nowhere else in the world.
Pine Hill Preserve is a collaborative effort by the BLM, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, CalFire, California Native Plant Society, American River Conservancy, El Dorado County, El Dorado County Water Agency and El Dorado Irrigation District.
For more information on the prescribed burn, please call the Mother Lode Field Office at 916-941-3101.
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.