Santa Rosa, CA – February 6, 2019 – Sonoma
County Regional Parks and the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CAL FIRE), Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit will begin burning brush piles at Shiloh
Ranch Regional Park in southeast Windsor on Sunday, Feb. 10.
The
pile burn is the first of several to be conducted in the park this month and
possibly into the spring, depending on permissive burn days. The burning is the
result of a collaboration among Regional Parks, the Mayacama Golf Club
homeowners association and CAL FIRE. The organizations began working together
last year to create a fire break along a wooded boundary the park shares with
the Mayacama homeowners.
CAL
FIRE crews and engines will be on site to conduct the burning between 10 a.m.
and 4 p.m. in a remote area not accessible to the public. The park will remain
open during the burning operations.
Shiloh
Ranch Regional Park, located 1.5 miles west of Highway 101 at Shiloh and Faught
roads, burned extensively in the 2017 Tubbs fire. Anticipating neighbors and
motorists might see or smell smoke from the burn piles, officials want to
assure the public they are not witnessing an emergency.
“This
is a routine yet important project,” said CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Sam Lazarich.
“Brush clearing and burning help protect our communities from future fires by
creating strategic fuel breaks.”
The
Shiloh-Mayacama project is a shaded fuel break where “ladder fuels” (vegetation
between the ground and the tree tops) have been removed. With these fuels
removed, the intensity of a wildland fire is reduced, and the fire is more
likely to stay on the ground, giving firefighters a better chance to control
it.
Burning vegetation is the most
cost-effective way to reduce fire fuels, explained Regional Parks Deputy
Director Melanie Parker. “While smoke can seem alarming, we know that some
smoke in midst of winter helps us reduce the chances of much more smoke in the
heat of the summer,” Parker said. “It’s important for the public to know that
these projects make us safer.”
Pile burns will become a more frequent
practice as Regional Parks expands its vegetation-management program. Regional
Parks on Jan. 31 collaborated with CAL FIRE on a brush pile burn along the
Coastal Prairie Trail in Bodega Bay.
For more information about Regional
Parks’ natural resources management, visit SonomaCountyParks.org.
For more information about fire safety
and CAL FIRE programs, visit www.fire.ca.gov.
About
Sonoma County Regional Parks
The
Sonoma County Regional Parks system includes 56 parks, beaches, and trails.
Regional Parks’ mission is to create healthy communities and contribute to the
county’s economic vitality by acquiring, developing, managing, maintaining
parks. Regional Parks preserves natural and cultural resources and offers
opportunities for recreation and education that enhance the quality of life and
well-being of residents and visitors.
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