BLM to conduct prescribed fire in the ‘Inimim Forest in Nevada County

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. - The Bureau of Land Management plans to conduct prescribed fire operations in the 'Inimim Forest located east of North Columbia in Nevada County. Mechanical pile burn operations are scheduled to start on Monday, March 16, and may continue through June. Timing of the burn operations will depend on weather conditions, air quality, resource availability and onsite observations.

The public is advised to use caution when encountering firefighters working on the roadways and be prepared to stop for firefighters and emergency vehicles. Smoke may be visible from Nevada City, Camptonville and the Upper Ridge area near the North Columbia and North Bloomfield areas.

"This treatment is part of the 'Inimim Forest Restoration Project, a multi-year partnership to improve forest health and resiliency, and reduce hazards that can fuel wildland fire," said Mother Lode Field Manager Jeff Horn. "These efforts will protect communities in the wildland-urban interface and improve fire resiliency."

Pile burning operations will consist of approximately 250 acres in the area of Jackass Flats Road, Silverthorne Lane, and Kadaheska Way in the 'Inimim Forest. The prescribed fire has been prepared for machine pile burning through close coordination with the Yuba Watershed Institute, which performs mechanical treatments with crews and machinery to carefully thin dense hazardous tree covers and underlying brush to improve forest health. The burn is being closely coordinated with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District.

The 'Inimim Forest is nearly 2,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands intermingled with private land on the San Juan Ridge, a 30-mile-long narrow ridge ranging from about 2,500 to 3,800 feet elevation between the South and Middle Yuba rivers.

For more information on the prescribed fire, please call the Mother Lode Field Office at 916-941-3101 or email the office at [email protected].