BLM plans fall prescribed burning projects in northwest California
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REDDING, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management is planning prescribed burning projects starting this fall and continuing into spring, on public lands in Shasta, Butte, Tehama and Trinity counties. Crews will ignite the pile burns and broadcast burns only when weather conditions allow for safe and successful burning and smoke dispersion.
“All of these projects are part of our commitment to sustaining public lands important to our communities,” said BLM Redding Field Manager Jennifer Mata. “We are committed to keeping public lands healthy, productive and accessible.”
An 81-acre project in the Weaverville Community Forest could begin during the week of Oct. 15. Crews will use a broadcast burn to remove small branches and brush left over from forest thinning projects. The carefully managed, low-intensity fire will reduce wildfire danger and improve forest health.
The BLM and Trinity County Resource Conservation District manage the 900-acre Trinity County forest in a partnership to maintain open recreational space and to provide forest products including lumber and firewood.
Also in Trinity County, crews plan to complete the Big Creek prescribed fire at Ewing Reservoir near the community of Hayfork. The fire will improve oak woodland wildlife habitat and expand existing fuel breaks that help provide wildfire protection for the community.
Crews will also burn several slash piles along Mainline Road and Browns Mountain Road in Trinity County. The piles are from forest thinning projects completed earlier this year.
The BLM also plans burning projects in the Upper Ridge Nature Preserve near the community of Magalia in Butte County. Crews will implement a five-acre broadcast burn and burn piles of brush and limbs when weather conditions are favorable. The burns will improve wildlife habitat and reduce wildfire risk.
The Butte Thin prescribed fire project, also in Butte County, will include a 70-acre understory burn north of DeSalba within a 131-acre forest thinning project completed several years ago. Crews will also continue pile burning in the same area. The projects are designed to reduce wildfire risk to the communities and watershed by creating shaded fuel breaks along Garland and Doe Mill roads.
In Tehama County, BLM crews plan to burn slash piles along Ponderosa Way in the Campbellville area. The piles were created during earlier forest thinning projects.
Crews will also work on pile burning projects to reduce hazardous fuels along recreational trails in Shasta County. Project areas include the Chappie-Shasta OHV Area north of French Gulch, the Sacramento River Rail Trail, Swasey Recreation Area and Cloverdale Recreation Area. Workers will thin vegetation in 25-foot-wide swaths along the trails and burn piles of brush and small trees removed during the work.
Smoke may be visible from nearby communities during the projects.
Additional information is available from the BLM Redding Field Office at 530-224-2100.
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.