Sonora, CA…Fire crews will begin ignitions Monday, November 1st, on the China 04 Understory Burn approximately four miles northeast of Greeley Hill along Forest Road 1S29, 2S28, and 2S17 on the Groveland Ranger District, Stanislaus National Forest, weather and air quality conditions permitting.

There are a total of 546 acres to be treated with low-intensity fire, with planned ignition on approximately 50 acres daily. The size of the burn may vary with weather and fuel moisture conditions, as well as permissible air quality burn days.

Ignition of the broadcast under-burn, one where there is little canopy cover, is planned to begin Monday, November 1st, with controlled burning to continue over the next 10 days once ignitions have started. Burning is contingent on weather, fuel moisture, and air quality. All burning is monitored and conducted in accordance with state and county air quality guidelines and is closely coordinated with local county air quality control districts.

The objectives of this prescribed burn is to reduce the buildup of flammable forest fuels, both ground and ladder fuels; reduce the threat of uncontrolled, large and damaging fires; and improve protection for life, property, and resources such as wildlife habitat, water quality and soil productivity.

Smoke may be visible from Smith Station Road with some down canyon drift smoke visible in the evening and early morning. This project is a planned prescribed fire; please do not report this as a wildland fire.

Prescribed burning is an effective, cost efficient method of reducing flammable forest fuels, improving firefighting capabilities, and reducing the impacts of uncharacteristic wildfire. The Sierra Nevada is a fire dependent ecosystem, where fire is part of the natural forest process. The objective of the burn program is to protect our local communities from wildfire by reducing hazardous fuel conditions.

Prescribed fires are also used for restoring, enhancing and sustaining a healthy forest ecosystem through reintroducing fire as a component of ecosystem dynamics. By burning during cooler and wetter times of the year, these burns are less intense, easier to control and produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire during the summer months. The U.S. Forest
Service complies with all local, state and federal air quality regulations during burn events.

Specific project location information is available online at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/stanislaus/home/?cid=stelprdb5440683. For more information or concerns about this prescribed burn, please call the: Groveland Ranger District at 209-962-7825 or the Stanislaus Supervisor’s Office at: 209-532-3671.