Riverside County fire crews will be conducting a controlled burn just south of Lake Mathews on Thursday to clear excess vegetation in preparation for wildfire season.
According to Cal Fire, crews are slated to conduct the 40-acre prescribed burn between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. within the Estelle Mountain Reserve, in the vicinity of Cajalco Road and La Sierra Avenue.
The operation will only go forward as long as weather conditions permit.
“The burn is … part of an effort to keep a major fire from moving into the reserve and to provide safe emergency egress for citizens and ingress for firefighting equipment,” according to a Cal Fire statement. “The burn will help manage non-native weeds and will help the ecosystem on the reserve.”
Officials emphasized that the operation will further eliminate overgrowth that might otherwise provide a path for wildfires to spread outside of the preserve into surrounding residential areas.
Inmate hand crews will join full-time fire personnel in carrying out the burn, which officials said is part of the Lake Mathews Vegetation Management Program. Controlled burns are conducted in the reserve almost every year.
Smoke columns will be visible for miles around, possibly even from the Riverside (91) Freeway and Interstates 15 and 215. Officials asked the public to keep that in mind before calling to report a fire in the area.
Anyone with questions or concerns was asked to contact the county fire public information bureau at 951-940-6985.