U.S. Forest Service fire crews will resume a series of controlled burns in the San Bernardino National Forest around Idyllwild this week to reduce excess vegetation that might otherwise fuel wildfires.
Operations began last week on calm days, and USFS officials said that as long as winds remain nominal, additional prescribed burns are planned each day, focusing mostly on the Cranston burn scar in the San Jacinto Mountains.
Motorists, visitors to the area and residents are advised not to be alarmed by the smoke columns south of Idyllwild and north of Mountain Center.
Nearly 1,300 acres are targeted for reduction on the Riverside County side of the 676,000-acre San Bernardino National Forest.
USFS officials said that, with the onset of winter weather, conditions are generally safe for burns, which will be closely monitored and immediately suspended when there are signs of increasing winds or extremely low humidity.
“Drought, fuel buildups and fire exclusion … have increased the severity of wildfires and allowed fuels to unnaturally build up,” according to a USFS statement.
“That build-up results in an overabundance of flammable brush, which can enable wildfires to quickly spread into the canopy and toward communities and infrastructure.”
Different burn methods will be utilized. One will be broadcast burning, which entails removing vegetation over a large space with pre-determined boundaries. The other is slash pile burning, which as the name implies, involves torching piles of brush to clear space around fire stations, communications towers and other facilities.
No road closures have been announced in connection with the burns.