The rainy season is also prescribed burning season for the Tahoe National Forest. And a number of pile burns are going on through Thursday on ten different acreage settings. Joe Flannery, with the Nevada City office of the U.S. Forest Service, says the one that might be visible to Grass Valley and Nevada City residents is on 384 acres near North Bloomfield and Graniteville Roads, east of Malakoff Diggins…

The last major wildfire in the Tahoe National Forest was in September of last year, where the North Fire scorched over a-thousand acres near Emigrant Gap. Flannery says there were no large fires this year and credits the increased number of prescribed burns…

Flannery says reducing hazardous fuels through such activities is the most effective and cost-efficient treatment that influences future fire behavior and suppression success, while also increasing forest health. Smoke for prescribed fire operations is normal and may continue for several days after an ignitition, depending on the project size and environmental conditions.