Grindstone Ranger District plans prescribed fires
WILLOWS, Calif.; October 7, 2016 – For Immediate Release – Mendocino National Forest fire managers announce it is time to prepare for prescribed burning on the Grindstone Ranger District. Prescribed fires are conducted to help reduce the potential for future severe wildfires, increase firefighter safety, remove hazardous fuels, and protect communities and watersheds.
Prescribed fires may be implemented through the fall and winter pending appropriate conditions. The ignition of all projects is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, favorable weather, conditions that minimize smoke impacts as best as possible, and California Air Resources Board approval. The local air quality district manages the number of acres available to burn during allotted burn days based on the amount of projects proposed.
Burns are conducted within a “prescription” that is determined by appropriate fuel moisture, temperature, humidity, wind, and ventilation. Fire crews implement, monitor, and patrol each project to ensure it meets the goals and objectives outlined in the prescribed burn plans.
We strive to keep the public informed of planned prescribed fires as smoke may be visible at different times across the forest. Forest visitors should contact the appropriate ranger district for prescribed fire information before beginning their trip to the forest.
These are the prescribed burning projects on the Grindstone Ranger District that may occur this year:
· Grindstone Type Conversation – 2,710 acres, units in Glenn and Colusa Counties
· Alder Springs Underburn – 2,241 acres, approximately 16 miles from Elk Creek, CA.
· Ivory Mill Underburn – 1,056 acres, ten miles west of Elk Creek, CA
· Oak Ridge Underburn – 868 acres, 15 miles west of Paskenta, CA
· Little Stony Underburn – 2,975 acres, 438 miles southwest of Willows, CA and eight miles southwest of the community of Ladoga
· Pacific Ridge Underburn – 1,324 acres (1,203 on Forest Service land and 121 acres on private land), within the South Fork Stony Creek watershed and in the Upper Little Stony Creek watershed.
· Grindstone Pile Burns – 1,514 acres, across the district within Colusa County, Glenn County, and Tehama counties.
As projects are implemented, updates will be posted on the forest website, http://www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino. For more information, please contact Nick Matheson at 530-934-1135.
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