SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.
The San Jacinto Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest has stopped the prescribed fire project on Thomas Mountain with fire personnel now focused on putting out any hot spots and conducting mop up activities.
The project was not continued after temperatures and air quality standards were not suitable for consecutive burn days.
Without the ability to start fires according to the firing plan, the project would have become an unsafe reactive activity for fire personnel. The work required fires to be set intentionally in a pattern that has been pre-planned and meets the project’s objectives and safety requirements. If ignitions cannot be started according to plan, the prescribed fire becomes an unacceptable safety hazard for personnel.
The project’s goal had been to implement prescribed fire on 2,500 acres on Thomas Mountain. The district intends to continue its prescribed fire objective if conditions allow in the fall.
Fire personnel will remain on site until the prescribed fire is officially declared out. That will be achieved in the following weeks.
Approximately 200 personnel are assigned to the activity. The project provided an opportunity for fire personnel to train and obtain field experience in the following: fire suppression techniques, burn boss responsibilities, firing boss tasks, fire leadership, and project planning and management.
It was the first time in approximately 50 years, or more, that prescribed fire had been used on the 108 acres that were treated. Excess vegetation (fuel load) has been removed and the treated acres will provide improvements to forest health.
Updates on the conclusion of the prescribed fire will be available on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SanBernardinoNF/ and our X site, https://twitter.com/SanBernardinoNF.
