YNP: Prescribed Fire in Yosemite National Park (Wawona NW 13) rescheduled for Monday, April 15.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

YNP: Prescribed Fire in Yosemite National Park (Wawona NW 13) rescheduled for Monday, April 15.

Yosemite National Park Fire Managers have rescheduled a prescribed burn in the Wawona area for Monday, April 15.

Wawona North West 2013 Prescribed Burn Map

The Wawona North West 2013 burn, originally scheduled for the beginning of April, was postponed because of wet conditions. Ignition of the burn is dependent on weather and moisture levels.

Where: The burn area is located near the community of Wawona. The total prescribed burn area will include 150 acres. The prescribed area is at the optimal fuel moisture level to successfully complete the project. This will be the first prescribed burn of the 2013 fire season.

Who: The prescribed fire is a collaborative effort between the National Park Service, Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Why: The primary objective of the prescribed fire is to create defensible space for potential catastrophic wildfire that may approach the community of Wawona. Further, the burn will help to reduce forest fuels in and around the Wawona area and help with forest ecology.

A combination of fuel reduction techniques have previously been utilized in the targeted area, including mechanical thinning, pile burning and prescribed burning. The use of these techniques, in conjunction with previous natural fire events, including the 2007 lightning caused Jack Fire, will further reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fire in the area.

When: The burn will take approximately two weeks to complete. Smoke from the fire may be visible throughout the park, but may be more evident in the southern portion of the park along the Highway 41 corridor and near the communities of Wawona, Fish Camp and Yosemite West.

A smoke management plan has been submitted to the Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District, and a burn permit has been issued. A smoke monitor will be placed in Wawona to monitor Yosemite’s air quality once the burn has been ignited.

CFN - California Fire News 2013

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Sunday, April 14, 2013