Starting Nov. 19, 2024, Tahoe National Forest will begin a prescribed pile burn approximately 5 miles east of Camptonville off Henness Pass Rd. Fire and fuels personnel plan to prescribed burn up to 125 acres starting Nov. 19 through Nov. 20, conditions permitting. Smoke impacts will be minimal, visible from Goodyears Bar, Forest City, Pike, Camptonville and surrounding area. Smoke will be visible from Camptonville, Pike and surrounding areas. Smoke impacts will be carefully monitored and efforts will be taken to reduce impacts to communities.

Image of a burning pile from a prescribed fire unit completed earlier this year on the Trapper Project. Many units in the project are located along Highway 49 (pictured in the background here) and connected roadways. One goal of this fuels reduction project is to improve the ingress and egress routes for the surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire.
Image of a burning pile from a prescribed fire unit completed earlier this year on the Trapper Project. Many units in the project are located along Highway 49 (pictured in the background here) and connected roadways. One goal of this fuels reduction project is to improve the ingress and egress routes for the surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire.

This prescribed burn is part of the approximately 15,473-acre Trapper Project, a fuels reduction and forest health project east of the community of Camptonville. The project is located within the North Yuba landscape, where the Forest Service and North Yuba Forest Partnership are prioritizing forest and watershed resilience work within the 275,000-acre landscape footprint. The North Yuba landscape was selected for investment in 2022 as part of the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy and has received $178 million of federal funding to implement wildfire risk reduction work in the watershed.

Trapper Stream Flow Enhancement Project Unit 35

Pile Burn

Yuba River Ranger District

Legal Location: T18N R9E Section 27

Acres: Up to 125

Ignition Dates: Nov. 19 – Nov. 20, conditions permitting

Why Are We Burning?

The goal of this prescribed burn is to decrease the existing fire hazard and to prevent and reduce the impact of future fires in the area. Other benefits include enhancing wildlife habitat and reintroducing fire into a fire-adapted ecosystem.

Why Now?

Current conditions allow for prescribed burning. Each prescribed fire operation follows a prescribed fire burn plan, which considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. This information is used to decide when and where to burn. The Tahoe National Forest strives to give as much advance notice as possible before burning, but some operations may be conducted on short notice.

Smoke

Smoke from prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignition depending on the project size and environmental conditions. Smoke may settle into the valleys in the evening and lift in the morning. The Tahoe National Forest coordinates with state and local county air pollution control districts and monitors weather conditions closely prior to prescribed fire ignition. Crews also conduct test burns before igniting a larger area, to verify how effectively fuels are consumed and how smoke will travel.