Tahoe National Forest will begin a prescribed pileburn at the junction of Henness Pass Rd. and Mountain House Rd. on the Yuba River Ranger District. Fire and fuels personnel plan to prescribed burn up to 180 acres starting today, Jan. 30 through tomorrow, Jan. 31, conditions permitting. Smoke impacts will be minimal, visible from Goodyears Bar, Forest City, Pike, Camptonville and surrounding area.

Several piles were ignited along the Highway 49 corridor, improving ingress/egress of surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire. Several piles were ignited along the Highway 49 corridor, improving ingress/egress of surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire. USDA Forest Service photo by Lauren Faulkenberry
Several piles were ignited along the Highway 49 corridor, improving ingress/egress of surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire. USDA Forest Service photo by Lauren Faulkenberry

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 $160 million of federal funding to implement wildfire risk reduction work in the watershed.

Several piles were ignited along the Highway 49 corridor, improving ingress/egress of surrounding communities in the event of a wildfire. USDA Forest Service video by Julia Bonney

Incident updates and any schedule changes will be announced on Tahoe National Forest’s InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-announcement/catnf-tnf-yuba-river-pileburn-projects

Trapper Project Pileburn

Yuba River Ranger District

Legal Location: T18N R10E Section 30, T18N R10E Section 20 and T18N R9E Section 27 

Acres: up to 170

Ignition Dates: Jan. 30 – Jan. 31, 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.