The Plumas Underburn Cooperative reports that it recently executed another fire safety underburn in a residential area on the outskirts of Quincy, at Old Highway Road. Motorists on Highway 70 may have seen the smoke rising from the burn, which began in the late afternoon on Saturday, May 24, and extended into the early evening.
PUC is sponsored by the Plumas County Fire Safe Council, and is a local volunteer effort to conduct underburns for fire safety. In recent years many such prescribed burn associations have been initiated around the state, say organizers, as citizens become aware of the benefits of reducing fuel loading in forests surrounding residential areas. PUC said the burn is one of many it has executed this spring.
The burn was led by Bill Jacks, local resident and executive director of Terra Fuego, a private business that does prescribed fire work around the North State. For this burn, Jacks acted as a volunteer burn boss, bringing his experience to conducting a safe burn.
“This burn was a great success: 2.5 acres of broadcast underburning immediately adjacent to homes has great value for wildfire resiliency,” said Jacks. “When we prescribe fire frequently around our communities we provide the greatest resiliency for our most vulnerable areas.”
Planners for the burn were very concerned that it not cause negative smoke impacts to the community, said organizers. To that end, they carefully monitored weather conditions to burn when the smoke would rise high in the atmosphere, reaching a high mixing height before dispersing.
“As a burn boss I am very involved in understanding the atmospheric stability above my burn,” said Jacks. “Mixing heights are valuable information that let me know how high I can push my smoke up into the sky and get mixing to occur.” He pointed out that mixing heights around 1,200 feet at night indicate that an evening burn will produce “very little to zero air impacts” on a nearby community.
“We know that wildfire will eventually burn the fire-prone landscape,” said Jacks. “Frequent prescribed fire continuously reduces the potential energy, eliminating excessive fuel accumulation.”
Local resident Jeff Greef’s house is directly adjacent to the burn area. He is a volunteer member of PUC and has participated in other burns. “This burn makes my neighborhood fire safe and greatly increases the possibility that my house will survive a wildfire in August or September,” said Greef. “I’m very grateful to PUC and the fire safe council for making this possible.”
About 30 volunteers came to the burn to participate, some from as far away as the San Francisco Bay Area. Volunteers are eager to learn how to safely conduct prescribed fire and welcome the opportunity to attend such events, said organizers.
Logan Krahenbuhl is a program manager at the fire safe council and assists with organizing prescribed burns such as this one. PUC supplies the equipment necessary to conduct these operations and Krahenbuhl organizes the logistics and provides planning input. “PUC is an awesome way to interface with your Plumas County neighbors and have an impact on community wildfire resilience,” said Krahenbuhl. “It was really special to burn on Saturday evening with people ranging in age from 10 years old all the way into their 80s! With good leadership anyone can use good fire.”
Organizers say the burns are always conducted with the oversight of the local California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection office, which issues permits to potential burners who provide a proper burn plan and resources.
“Cal Fire is committed to supporting safe and effective fuels reduction efforts throughout Plumas County,” said the agency in a statement. “We assist landowners with burn permit guidance, ensure burn plan safety through established standards and provide resources when available to help reduce wildfire risk and promote healthy, fire-resilient landscapes.” A Cal Fire truck and crew were present as backup at the May 24 burn.
The Plumas County Fire Safe Council exists to assist local residents with many different aspects of fire safety from fuels reduction to home hardening. The office can be contacted at 530-283-3747.
