December 5, 2020 at 8:30 PM Update This project has been postponed to a later date.
A prescribed burn will be conducted on 17 private acres on Merrimas Way between Rock Creek Road and Hudson Road on the north side of Round Mountain. It will be directed by a qualified Burn Boss. Personnel will be volunteers from the Yuba Bear Burn Cooperative and other Northern California Prescribed Burn Associations.
The burn will be completed in one day. After completion, the area will be patrolled and monitored daily until fire is fully extinguished.
We have been monitoring weather patterns and fuel moisture to ensure we meet the prescription outlined in the burn plan. Predicted weather forecasts over the next few days are for continued dry weather, which will help reduce smoke levels.
Permits for this low-intensity surface burn have been obtained from CalFire and the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management Board (for smoke management).
If you smell smoke, do not report it. You may wish to stay indoors temporarily. Smoke may settle into drainages and low lying areas along the South Yuba River canyon during cooler nighttime temperatures and lift out the next day as temperatures increase.
The goal of this burn is to reduce fuel loads, improve wildlife habitat and forest health, and re-introduce fire to the landscape. It follows months of preparation, including forest thinning, removal of ladder fuels, and creation of a wide perimeter control zone.
Known as Lone Bobcat Woods Wildlife Preserve, the property has conservation easements held by the Bear Yuba Land Trust. They plan future prescribed burns to increase the area of reduced fuels. This in turn reduces the threat of a wildfire because the fuel is no longer available to burn.