Lightning Caused Fire In Stanislaus National Forest In Ideal Spot

Groveland, CA — The US Forest Service reports that a lightning-caused fire located in an isolated area of the Stanislaus National Forest two weeks ago is being managed to achieve multiple objectives.

The Bone Fire was first spotted on June 15 along Jawbone Pass. The Forest Service indicates that it was in an ideal location, within a pre-planned Cherry North Prescribed burn area. Crews had already thinned vegetation along containment lines, and cleared roads impacted by winter storm damage, preparing for an upcoming prescribed burn in that area.

“This lightning strike happened right in an area where we had already done significant planning and prep work,” said Groveland District Fire Management Officer, Pat Laeng. “Assuming weather conditions remained favorable, we had every intention of performing prescribed fire operations on this pre-defined unit in the very near term.”

Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken adds, “Allowing natural fire to spread in areas where it can be safely and effectively managed helps restore natural fire return intervals, increasing forest resiliency and aiding in reducing catastrophic wildfire risk to our communities.”

Around 80 firefighters who were recently assigned to a prescribed burn that wrapped up near Strawberry have now been shifted over to the Groveland Ranger District to help build more containment lines near the Cherry North Prescribed Burn area.

“All told, we’re hoping to complete 961 acres of fuels mitigation,” said Laeng. “All of this is of course dependent on the continued availability of resources, weather, and other critical factors.”

It was noted that prescribed burning in the Summit Ranger District recently wrapped up due to warming temperatures, but the Bone Fire is at an elevation approximately 2,000 feet higher, with cooler temperatures.

Smoke may be visible at times. The Forest Service notes that if conditions call for it, full suppression efforts will be used to extinguish the fire.