Month Long Prescribed Burn In Forest

Stanislaus National Forest Image

Sonora, CA – Travelers and communities along the Highway 108 corridor may see smoke in the skies above the Stanislaus National Forest.

Up to 51 personnel have been assigned to conduct the burn, with the ignitions taking place in the month of May in the Dry Meadows Area of the Summit and Mi-Wok Ranger District. Predesignated units are being burned about six miles northeast of Pinecrest, along Forest Road 5N02, near the Dry Meadow Fire Station. Ignition is contingent on weather, fuel moisture, and air quality.

This is an understory burn, meaning a prescribed fire ignited under the forest canopy that focuses on the consumption of surface fuels but not the overstory vegetation. Forest fire officials detailed that the low-intensity fires enhance wildlife habitat, protect and maintain water quality and soil productivity, improve forest ecosystem health, and reduce the threat of uncontrolled conflagrations. They also ask the public not to report the burning as a wildland fire.