Beginning on Wednesday, May 4, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area will be resuming planned prescribed burning activities initiated this past February within the Buck and East Boundary Projects. Conditions within both project areas are expected to meet the desired prescriptive elements to safely and effectively achieve project goals and objectives within the next several weeks. Both projects are located along the east boundary of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area which borders portions of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands and private property above the community of Old Shasta and the areas around Swasey Drive.
Whiskeytown’s fire program is committed to reducing hazardous fuels build up, protecting communities at risk, and working toward long-term forest health. The overall safety of firefighters and the public are the primary goals of these projects. Temperature, humidity and winds will be monitored to ensure safe and effective burn conditions and favorable air quality. In general, project ignitions will be planned for periods of good smoke lift and dispersion.
“The south and east sides of the park are thick with dense pockets of brush and small diameter trees. These burns help reduce the heavier fuel profiles that can carry high intensity fires toward neighboring communities and developments and contribute to dangerous conditions for the public and firefighters," stated Superintendent Jim Milestone. To help protect visitors and firefighters there may be controlled traffic along Mule Town Road during implementation of the Buck Prescribed Burn project. Several trails in the vicinity may also be temporarily closed, including the Buck Hollow and Salt Creek Loop Trails within the park.
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Fire crews may ignite individual units within each project area on multiple days if conditions are favorable. All efforts will be made to minimize smoke impacts to surrounding communities through coordination with the Shasta County Air Quality Management District. Smoke will be generally visible from the Redding and Anderson areas during active ignition operations.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
