Forest Service announces pile burning on Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest photo
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.carsonnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/107314-pileburning.jpg?fit=300%2C283&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.carsonnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/107314-pileburning.jpg?fit=500%2C471&ssl=1″ />

As part of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s hazardous fuels reduction efforts, both Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts’ fire crews will begin pileburning on National Forest System land when weather and fuel conditions permit over the next several months.

Prescribed fire is a vital forest management tool used by land managers to decrease the threat of high-severity wildfires, reduce risk to homes and infrastructure, and minimize human exposure to long periods of high-particulate smoke. It also creates spaces from which firefighters can safely and effectively fight a future wildfire. 

Burning excess vegetation also benefits forest health by improving wildlife forage and habitat, recycling nutrients back into the soil, reducing the spread of insects and disease, and controlling invasive plant and weed species. Additionally, prescribed fire helps maintain clean drinking water and increases the quantity of water, which benefits plants, animals and people.

Prescribed fire managers use different methods to reintroduce low-intensity fire into forests through pile, broadcast, and understory burning.  Pile burning is a type of prescribed fire where cut and stacked vegetation is burned after giving time to dry out. These piles are made from the debris left after fuel reduction projects that involve thinning or cutting of trees in the forest. Piles are generally burned during the wet season to reduce damage to the remaining trees and to confine the fire to the footprint of the pile.

Before any prescribed fire is conducted, fire managers also create a burn plan, which includes smoke management details, fire control measures, acceptable weather parameters, and equipment and personnel needs. The burn plan also describes in detail how the ecosystem will benefit from fire.

Air quality is an important value that is considered by land managers during planning to implementation to avoid impacts to communities, minimize public health effects, and reduce visibility impairment on roadways.  Before burning, prescribed fire managers coordinate with the appropriate state or local air quality regulatory agency or state forestry agency to ensure smoke is managed. For air quality data, visit:

• Current Air Quality Index – https://www.airnow.gov/
• Fire and Smoke Map – https://fire.airnow.gov/

The actual days of ignition for the will depend on several factors including appropriate humidity levels, wind speed and direction, temperature, and fuel moisture. Burns only occur on days when weather conditions exist for smoke dispersal. Fire crews divide extensive landscape burns into blocks of land over multiple days. This allows them to halt burningactivity within those areas if anything is out of the pre-established prescription conditions, such as too much wind. Crews can start again when conditions are more acceptable.

The public is asked to not call 911 about seeing smoke in the areas listed below. Local fire departments are aware of these burning activities. The public can get prescribed burn updates by visiting the Forest’s InciWeb (https://bit.ly/PrescribedFireInciWeb) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtToiyabeNF/) or X (https://x.com/HumboldtToiyabe) pages. 

For information on burning activities on the Bridgeport and Carson Ranger Districts, please contact Fuels Specialist Jed Rudelbach at jedidia.rudelbach@usda.gov or 775-884-8142.  

An ArcGIS StoryMap that explains how prescribed fire is good for National Forest System land can be viewed at: https://bit.ly/PrescribedFireStoryMap.

• Carson Ranger District:
• Approximately 734 acres in several locations in the Dog Valley Fuels Reduction Project area located in Sierra County, Calif. 
• Approximately 149 acres in the Mount Rose Corridor Project area in the southern part of Reno, Nev., off Nevada State Route 431 (Mt. Rose Highway) in Washoe County.
• Approximately 16 acres in the Clear Creek Fuels Reduction Project area, west of Carson City Nev., off U.S. Route 50 in Douglas County. 
• Approximately 66 acres in the Little Valley Fuels Reduction Project area, west of Washoe Valley, Nev.

• Approximately 74 acres in the Manzanita Fuels Reduction Project area, west of Woodfords, Calif., off California State Route 88 in Alpine County.

• Approximately 17 acres in the Monitor Pass Habitat Restoration Project area, southeast of Markleeville, Calif., off U.S Route 89 in Alpine County.
• Approximately 493 acres in the West Carson Watershed Fuels Reduction Project area, west of Woodfords, Calif., off California State Route 88 in Alpine County.
• Approximately 30 acres in the Tamarack Restoration Project area, in two areas to the North and West of Markleeville, Calif., in Alpine County.

• Bridgeport Ranger District:
  • Approximately seven acres in the Twin Lakes area west of Bridgeport, Calif., off U.S. Route 395 in Mono County.

The post Forest Service announces pile burning on Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts appeared first on Carson Now.