Forest Service News Release

Acting Public Affairs Officer: Jamie Hinrichs
[email protected]
www.fs.usda.gov/inyo
Facebook @InyoNF

Fall prescribed burning on Inyo National Forest

USDA Forest Service firefighters apply low intensity fire on the Mammoth Ranger District, Spring 2023.
(USDA Forest Service photo)

BISHOP, Calif., September 30, 2024 — This fall season, Inyo National Forest fire personnel will be looking for windows of opportunity to conduct up to 2,193 acres of broadcast prescribed burning on the Mono Lake and Mammoth Ranger Districts to restore forest health and reduce hazardous fuels.

Smoke will drift and settle into the valley areas, especially at night. This includes areas such as Highway 395, Mammoth Scenic Loop, Owens River Road, Crowley Lake, and Owens River Gorge. If necessary, smoke-sensitive individuals may need to take precautions to minimize smoke impacts. Visit fire.airnow.gov to check particulate levels before you visit the Owens Valley area in general.

Location: On Inyo NF lands, south of June Lake Junction, north of the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
• Smoke and flame may be visible from many miles away, including along the Highway 395 corridor north of Tom’s Place and south of Conway Summit, from Deadman Creek Road, Owens River Road, Bald Mountain Road, Glass Creek Road and Mammoth Scenic Loop.

Units: Up to 2,193 acres of broadcast prescribed burning (see map above)

Purpose: Implementation of the 2007 Jeffrey Pine Forest Health & Fuel Reduction Project Environmental Assessment and the 2018 Three Creeks Jeffrey Pine Forest Health and Restoration Project Environmental Assessment

“Our fire and fuels specialists continually track specific conditions and seasonal trends,” said Jeff Karl, a Fuels Battalion for Inyo National Forest. We aim to perform these burns once we see desirable weather, fuel moisture, and have appropriate staffing this fall and winter.”

“Our fire behavior models prescribe that a fuel moisture range be low enough to consume forest fuels, but also high enough to moderate fire behavior and provide desired effects,” he continued. “We may not burn all targeted acreage, due to any number of variables that must be considered to obtain the desired fire effects on the landscape for the forest ecosystems which depend on it.”

Updates will be released as they become available via:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/inyonf

Forest website: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/inyo/alerts-notices

Ignitions are coordinated with the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District and National Weather Service meteorologists to ensure desired weather patterns and smoke dispersal are in place in order to minimize impacts to communities, highways, and adjacent residences before ignitions.

For a multimedia album of prescribed burns conducted on Inyo National Forest, visit our Flickr page at: www.flickr.com/photos/inyo-national-forest/

Additional prescribed burn units may be targeted as weather patterns allow into the coming weeks and months, including the potential to start pile burning should winter arrive early. More information will be provided on those projects as it becomes available.