Six Rivers National Forest Set to Begin Fall/Winter Burning

This is a press release from the Six Rivers National Forest:

United States Forest Service USFS

EUREKA, California – With fall’s cooler temperatures and higher humidities, Six Rivers National Forest staff is gearing up to begin prescribed burning to reduce hazard fuels that could contribute to extreme fire behavior should a wildfire occur. Prescribed burning will be implemented as fuel moisture and weather conditions permit.

“The Six Rivers National Forest is part of a fire-adapted ecosystem. Fire is an important part of our landscapes,” said Forest Supervisor Ted McArthur. “Prescribed burning helps re-introduce fire on our terms and diminishes the potential for adverse fire affects from wildfires.”

Prior to initiating any prescribed burning, forest staff considers weather and environmental factors including fuel moisture, humidity, temperature, wind speed/direction, and smoke column dispersal and direction. The forest also works with the National Weather Service and the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District to maintain compliance with state and federal burning regulations in the North Coast area.

Following is a district-by-district (from north to south) summary of the fall’s planned prescribed burns:

Gasquet Ranger District/Smith River National Recreation Area – 59 acres

Understory burning:

·         28 acres in the Gordon Hill project area, located near the community of Gasquet, off French Hill Road.

·         15 acres in the Mvs-yee-se′-ne or Pappas Flat project area, located near Gasquet, off Forest Service Road 17N49.

Pile burning:

·         15 acres within the Elk Camp Ridge project area, northeast of Gasquet.

·         Administrative site burn at Gasquet (1-acre pile).

Smoke may be visible from Gasquet on Highway 199, but should not affect highway travel.

Orleans/Ukonom Districts 1,000 acres

Understory burning:

·         15 acres as part of the Roots and Shoots Cultural Burn. There are three separate locations for these burns: the base of Bluff Creek Road, the Donahue Flat area, and 25 miles out the Gasquet-Orleans Road (GO Road).

·         A 350-acre understory burn is planned after October 1, as part of the Hazel Vegetation Management Project, near Deer Lick Saddle, south of Orleans and the Klamath River.

Pile burning:

·         Suppression-related pile burning on 2017’s Orleans Complex fires.

·         500 acres of pile burning will occur on the Orleans Community Fuels Reduction Project (OCFR).

·         Administrative site burns at Ti Bar Station, Oak Bottom and Orleans.

Smoke may be visible from Highway 96 and various county roads.

Lower Trinity District – 153 acres

Understory burning:

·         38 acres as part of the Roots and Shoots Cultural Burn. There are three separate locations for these burns: west of East Fork Campground along Forest Service Road 6N21, near Horse Mountain along Forest Route 1, and near Sims Mountain along Forest Route 6.

Pile burning:

·         80 acres within the Sims Restoration Project: handpile burning on Forest Service Road 4N20, near the confluence of the Trinity River and Grouse Creek.

·         20 acres within Happy Camp: machine piles on Happy Camp Mountain.

·         15 acres within Mill Creek Roadside Fuels Reduction Project, east of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation near Packsaddle Ridge.

·         Administrative site burns at Salyer and Willow Creek.

Smoke may be visible from State Highways 299 and 96, County Road 311, Forest Routes 1, 4 and 6, and the communities of Willow Creek, Hoopa and Salyer. Project activities should not affect any state or county roads, but may temporarily impact some forest-maintained roads.

Mad River District132 acres

Understory burning:

•115 acres south of Ruth Lake in the Beaverslide Timber Sale and Fuel Treatment Project on Forest Service Road 27N34.

Pile burning:

•4 acres of machine piles along the 2015 contingency fireline, in the Goat Rock area southwest of Black Lassic and north of Watts Lake Campground, on Forest Service Road 2S08.

•3 acres of machine piles in the Little Gulch Timber Sale area, south of Ruth in the Jones Ridge and Cobb Ridge area, on Forest Service Roads 27N02 and 27N33.

•10 acres between the Mad Ridge Fuelbreak and the Van Duzen River Road community on Forest Service Road 1N05 within the Van Duzen Vegetation Management Project.

•Administrative site burns at Ruth, Mad River and Zenia guard stations.

Smoke may be visible from State Highway 36 and the communities of Mad River, Van Duzen, Hettenshaw Valley, Kettenpom, Zenia, Alder Point, Blocksburg and Ruth, but will not affect any major travel routes.

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Geoffrey davis
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Geoffrey davis
5 years ago

Wonderful to hear this… pretty wet at this point.