Vegetation management burns to begin in Amador-El Dorado Counties

Camino, Calif. November 1, 2017 – The Amador- El Dorado Unit of CAL FIRE has begun its Fall prescribed fire regiment by assisting the University of California Blodgett Forest Research Station on the Georgetown Divide with a series of control burns occurring throughout the week. The goal of these burns is to reintroduce fire in a way to have positive ecological and human benefits while facilitating present and future research. Using low intensity fire to burn the timber understory will reduce the fire hazard in the area and reduce competing vegetation allowing the allocation of available resources for tree growth.

California State Parks at the DL Bliss State park located in South Lake Tahoe will have ongoing pile burning and possible broadcast burning if conditions allow. The goals of these burns are fuels management and hazard reduction creating a safer environment for park goers. CAL FIRE AEU will be assisting State Parks with these burns throughout the Fall.

Shake/Fiddletown vegetation management plan (VMP) which is a cooperative cost-share partnership with SPI and 22 private landowners will proceed with a burn of approximately 60 acres spread across Wednesday November 1st and 2nd. This project is part of the maintenance of an existing shaded fuel break that protects the communities of Volcano and Fiddletown. The project site is located along Shake Ridge Road and Fiddletown Road. CAL FIRE hand crews have prepared piles of vegetation throughout the summer and will be burning those along with some broadcast burns of understory vegetation.

The Sly Park VMP is one of the longest standing fuels reduction projects in the state. Pile burning and timber understory burning will occur as conditions allow. The burns will take place between the hours of 10 am to 3 pm on those days when the specific weather conditions exist which will allow the fuels to burn quickly and cleanly producing the least amount of smoke possible.

Unit Chief Scott Lindgren states; “These vegetation management programs help protect our communities against large and damaging wildfires, as well as also help to lessen the competition of resources among trees. Even though the drought has been declared over, the effects of it are long lasting. Doing our part to protect our communities and help the forest stay healthy is a large part of the mission of CAL FIRE.”

For additional information on CAL FIRE’s vegetation management program, visit the webpage at http://www.fire.ca.gov/resource_mgt/resource_mgt_vegetation.php.