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It was a transition day on the French Meadows RX Burn. District Fuels and Prescribed Fire Specialist Brian Crawford assumed position of burn boss at 3:00pm today. Due to unfavorable weather and fuel conditions, no further prescribed ignitions are planned this week. Wildland crews will continue to monitor the edge of the fire and work to improve containment lines with a desirable 50-foot width where feasible. Patrols are expected for up to a month or until firefighters are confident that the burn area is cool. Crawford was pleased with the progression of the prescription burn thus far, stating “Fire Behavior was a mix of low intensity burning with minimum impact to the riparian landscape which we foresee improving the aquatic habitats and drainage in the watershed area”.

With the planned areas being out of prescription for ignitions, crews are pivoting to other methods of management. Firefighters will hand thin overgrowth above and below Forest Road 96 utilizing saws and other hand tools. This accomplishes a two-fold objective of prepping areas for the possibility of Fall prescription burns and also clearing understory to increase visibility of the French Meadows Reservoir. Hand-thinning will also reduce hazards by removing dead trees that pose a protentional threat to visitors and increase camp-site availability, as some campgrounds have not opened due to hazard trees remaining after the late snow.