Cemetery Burn To Enhance Fire Protections For Mokelumne Hill

Cal fire Truck

San Andreas – A prescribed burn in Mokelumne Hill next week is expected to create smoke that will be visible for travelers on Highways 49 and 26 in Calaveras County.

CAL Fire relayed the purpose of the burn is to clear hazardous fuels and provide a cleared area on the site used for daily visitation and observance of memorial plots. It will also enhance the established Mokelumne Hill Fuelbreak, which aided firefighters in protecting the community during the 2015 Butte fire. CAL Fire noted that there are secondary benefits as well, including training with live fire and working with cooperating fire agencies in the area.

The fuel reduction burn will be ignited on Monday, October 18th. Two burn units totaling around seven acres of annual grass and oak woodland will be burned, beginning between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The burn is expected to last 6 to 8 hours. CAL Fire reports that control lines and roadways will be used to prevent the spread of flames from areas outside the burn. Also, firefighters will remain on the scene until all hotspots are extinguished.