BLM planning prescribed fires in Shasta, Siskiyou counties
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REDDING, Calif. – Crews from the Bureau of Land Management will be conducting pile burning projects in Shasta and Siskiyou counties during favorable conditions through Dec. 10. The small, hand-built piles of tree branches and brush are from earlier fuels reduction projects to reduce wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, public lands adjacent to community development.
In Shasta County, crews will be burning in a corridor stretching from the Oak Knoll Trailhead on Muletown Road to the Placer Trailhead on Placer Road in Redding. The project covers about 40 acres. Crews plan to burn within 10-acre units on each burn day. Smoke will be visible to residents in west Redding neighborhoods along Placer and Muletown roads and from the BLM-managed Swasey and Mule Ridge trails while burning is underway from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
In Siskiyou County, crews will burn hand-built piles along Hawkinsville-Humbug and Canal Gulch roads about 2 miles north of Yreka. Smoke will be visible to residents of the immediate area during burning hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This project covers 40 acres, with crews planning to complete 10 acres on each burn day.
The BLM conducts pile burning in accordance with burn plans that detail allowable weather and fuel conditions and required crews and equipment.
Projects such as these are part of the BLM’s fuels management program across the West that conducts a wide variety of active management vegetation treatments using mechanical, biological, and chemical tools, and prescribed fire. BLM fuels reduction and prescribed burning projects are part of the effort to keep public lands healthy and productive, a goal outlined in the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative.
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.