Yosemite Brush Burning

Yosemite, CA — Park officials say don’t be alarmed it’s a prescribed burn. They will be igniting 220 acres of brush near the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station on Highway 120 on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.

Park officials say the burn could take three days to complete. Smoke from the burn may be visible throughout the park, but maybe more evident in the northern portion of the park.

This will be the first prescribed burn of the 2012 fire season.
Since 1990, a hazardous fuel reduction program has been implemented to protect private and public structures around the Hodgdon Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). The most recent projects were last summer with over 500 acres being treated.

A mixture of fuel reduction techniques have been used including mechanical thinning, pile burning and prescribed burning.  This project will not only extend the defensible space, but also facilitate the reintroduction of fire into the ecosystem and restore the forest area

For more information on this specific prescribed burn, or the fire program, please click here.