The continued dry weather could actually help reduce the wildfire danger later in the year. It’s allowed for prescribed daytime fire activities near Nevada City through Friday. That’s on 400 acres near Highway 20 and southeast of Scott’s Flat reservoir. Joe Flannery, with the local Tahoe National Forest Service Office, says it was not originally planned for this week, since it can often be raining…

But Flannery says smoke dispersal can still be a challenge and slow down the work, especially if it’s near popular recreation areas. He says it’s part of the Western County Community Defense Project, which has been going on for a number of years. That features hand or machine pile burnings and also what’s called under-burnings…

Flannery says the fires are ignited in the morning but the smoke may continue for several days. It may settle in low-lying areas at night or in the morning and usually disperses during normal daytime warming.