East Shore prescribed burn scheduled
U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will resume prescribed fire operations on the East Shore on May 30.
Crews expect to burn approximately 1 to 3 acres west of the Spooner Summit area. Operations are scheduled to last through the day, weather and conditions permitting.
Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from this prescribed fire project area. Smoke may be visible on Highway 50.
The Forest Service strives to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities. Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed.
To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.
Let’s hope the forest there isn’t ruined like the one the USFS torched above Glenbrook.
Let’s hope the forest there isn’t destroyed like the ones the USFS torched above Glenbrook and Meeks Canyon.
Destroyed?
Really?
You expect pile burning on steep slopes to not lead to some torching?
It’s a forest not a topiary garden.
Scorch resulting from prescribed fires is expected and accepted. Trees can survive with as little as 10-30 percent green needles remaining in the canopy. Some trees will die, and this is also expected and accepted. Often, the trees that succumb to scorch are the less fire-resistant species, such as white fir. Many of the trees should green back up within the next year to two years, helped by the thinning we’ve done there, which decreases competition for water, sunlight and nutrients. Scorch and associated mortality help to mimic the role natural wildfire used to play in our ecosystem.
So while we realize that some people might find scorch unsightly, it’s not unnatural, nor is it unacceptable to the Forest Service as a result of our prescribed fire operations. It’s probably a little more visible in that location than in some other areas we’ve treated. We had a large-scale prescribed fire a few years ago in Slaughterhouse Canyon that produced a large amount of scorch, and the hillside greened up within two years.