Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management’s Eagle Lake Field Office will conduct prescribed burns north of Eagle Lake, beginning with the Bald Understory Project this week.
Prescribed burns help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. Projects will occur only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.
The Bald Understory Project will consist of a series of burns in a 4,000-acre project area. The first prescribed burn in the series will be a carefully managed broadcast burn of 150 to 300 acres on BLM-managed public lands just west of the Grasshopper area, along State Route 139.
Smoke will be visible from the vicinity of Eagle Lake and to motorists along the route 139 and US Highway 395.
“The prescribed burns will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Emily Ryan, manager of the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office in Susanville.
“These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and help protect communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands. The project will also improve wildlife habitat and livestock grazing conditions.”
Crews will complete a series of small, strategically located burns ahead of larger broadcast burns designed to treat the entire project area, explained Eagle Lake Field Office Fire Management Officer Grant Gifford.
The BLM conducts prescribed burns conforming to plans that specify allowable weather and fuel conditions, and the personnel and equipment required.
