Residents and travelers in northern Lassen County should expect to see smoke along the Highway 395 corridor as the Bureau of Land Management begins a prescribed burning project scheduled for today and tomorrow, depending on local conditions.
According to BLM Lead Public Affairs Specialist Jesse Pluim, the project covers 164 acres located on Horse Lake Road. The specific burn site is situated nine miles southwest of Ravendale, approximately four miles east of Horse Lake and eight miles west of the intersection of Highway 395 and Horse Lake Road.
Crews will be focused on burning piles of brush, limbs, and small trees left over from previous fuels reduction efforts.
While the primary ignitions are scheduled to conclude by Thursday, Pluim notes that smoke production could remain visible for an additional two to five days after the active burning is finished. The BLM will be closely monitoring smoke impacts throughout the process.
Ignitions will only occur when weather and fuel conditions allow for a safe operation, and crews are prepared to halt work immediately if smoke begins to impact visibility or air quality in Ravendale or along Highway 395.
These fuels reduction projects are a critical part of the BLM’s strategy to improve fire resilience within the wildland-urban interface. By thinning out these materials now under controlled conditions, officials aim to create better environments for wildfire suppression and more effective defense for local structures in the future.
