AUBURN, CA – The Placer Resource Conservation District (Placer RCD) is supporting a prescribed burn in Applegate on Memorial Day, Monday May 29th, 2023. The project is part of the Placer Prescribed Burn Association (Placer PBA), a grassroots program dedicated to equipping private landowners with the necessary tools to apply safe, legal, and ecologically beneficial prescribed burns.
Placer RCD has obtained all required permits including a CAL FIRE LE-7 permit for broadcast burning and a smoke management permit. The Placer County Air Pollution Control District has approved the burn to take place on Memorial Day.
The project is approximately 3 acres and serves as a training opportunity for the landowners and the larger community. Placer RCD will provide technical support and instruction to ensure that the fire remains fully contained and ignition tactics minimize smoke impacts to the community. If weather does not permit, the burn will be cancelled.
After more than a century of fire suppression, most forests in the Sierra Nevada are overcrowded and vulnerable to high-severity wildfire. In combination with tree mortality due to drought and bark beetle, it will take a multi-facetted approach to improve community fire resiliency. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for managing rangelands and forests in the Sierra Nevada. By applying safe, legal, and ecologically beneficial prescribed burns, we are working to reduce the fuel load in our forests, which helps to decrease the severity of wildfires.
Placer RCD is pleased to offer technical assistance for landowners and land managers to manage fuels, reintroduce fire, and improve forest health. To learn more about Placer RCD’s technical programs as they pertain to wildfire management and join the Placer Prescribed Burn Association, please contact Cordi Craig, Prescribed Fire Program Manager, at cordi@placerrcd.org.