Smokey Skies Soon Over Forest
Sonora, CA — You may see smoke off of Highway 108 near Twain Harte and Mi-wuk Village next week. Do not be alarmed the smoke will be coming from a prescribed burn in the Stanislaus National Forest. The Crandall Understory burn in the Mi-Wok Ranger District is set to begin Wednesday and continue for several weeks. As reported early, the forest service has announced a handful of burns in the forest areas of Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties. They are all to be set this fall, but Spokesperson Veronica Garcia says they have not stepped up burn efforts in reaction to the Rim Fire.
“The Forest Service does prescribe burns, not necessarily because the Rim Fire happened, but it’s to prevent incidents such as the Rim Fire. Doing the prescribe burns does reduce the possibility of having a wildfire,” says Garcia.
A total of 280 acres will be burned off of Italian Bar Road south of Deer Creek and along Forest Road 3N24. Forest Service officials want to alert residents and motorists drifting smoke may also be seen in the canyon during the early morning and evening hours.
Click here for a map of the burn area.
