CA-YNP Yosemite Ahwahnee Meadow Prescribed Burn

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

CA-YNP Yosemite Ahwahnee Meadow Prescribed Burn

Ahwahnee Meadow Prescribed Burn

Yosemite National Park fire managers are planning a 61 acre Ahwahnee Meadow prescribed burn in the coming week. Ignition will take approximately one day and an additional two to four days of active burn down.

Smoke will be present during the prescribed fire and in Yosemite Valley. Fire managers are working with the Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District (MCAPCD) to time the project to coincide with favorable weather that will facilitate good air quality. Smoke, affecting health, is always a consideration in the decision to schedule prescribed fires. Prior to ignition, a burn permit will be issued to Yosemite by MCAPCD. Community members who are sensitive to smoke may want to close their windows and doors and/or consider leaving the area during active ignition of the project in order to reduce their exposure.

Historically, natural fire burned an average of 16,000 acres annually in Yosemite National Park and played an integral role in shaping Yosemite’s ecosystem. Yosemite's Fire Management program is designed to balance the protection of life, property, and natural and cultural resources with the continuation of fire as a natural process. Due to decades of fire suppression (actively putting out any fire that starts), many areas have become overgrown, unhealthy, and increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire.

The objective of this prescribed burn is ecosystem restoration. American Indians frequently used fire in this area to shape the landscape to their uses. Applying fire under prescribed conditions mimics the frequent, low intensity, lightning caused fires that used to occur. Fire also allows for the recycling of nutrients to the soil, which encourages the germination and regrowth of plants, shrubs and trees.

Park employees, community members, and visitors can expect to see fire personnel from various federal and state agencies conducting burn operations during the Ahwahnee Meadow Prescribed Fire.

For More Information
 Fire Information: nancy_phillipe@nps.gov (209) 372-0480
 Yosemite National Park Fire Information website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm.  Yosemite Wildland Fire Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yosemite-Fire-and-Aviation-124632964255395/
 Yosemite Fire Twitter: https://twitter.com/yosemitefire
 California Smoke Blog online access: http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/
 Yosemite Webcam: http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams

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

Wednesday, September 7, 2016