Sonora, Calif., October 17, 2014…Fire crews plan to begin ignitions on the Moore/Bellfour Understory Burn on the Calaveras Ranger District, Stanislaus National Forest, Oct. 21, weather and air quality conditions permitting.

The 491 acre unit is located in the North Fork of the Mokelumne River, Bellfour Canyon, six miles west of the town of Bear Valley, off Forest Road 7N09.

Ignitions will likely last seven to nine days, with residual smoke being seen for one to two weeks. The area will be treated using low-intensity prescribed fire, with planned ignition on approximately 60 acres daily.  Size of burn may vary with weather and fuel moisture conditions, as well as permissible air quality burn days.

Smoke may be visible from Highway 88 east of Pioneer and Highway 4 east of Bear Valley. This project is a planned prescribed fire. Please do not report as a wildland fire.

Prescribed burning is an effective, cost efficient method of reducing flammable forest fuels, improving firefighting capabilities, and reducing the impacts of uncharacteristic wildfire. The Sierra Nevada is a fire dependent ecosystem, where fire is part of the natural forest process. The objective of the burn program is to protect our local communities from wildfire by reducing hazardous fuel conditions.

Prescribed fires are also used for restoring, enhancing and sustaining a healthy forest ecosystem through reintroducing fire as a component of ecosystem dynamics. By burning during cooler and wetter times of the year, these burns are less intense, easier to control and produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire during the summer months. The U.S. Forest Service complies with all local, state and federal air quality regulations during burn events.

Specific project location information is available online at:http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/stanislaus/home/?cid=stelprdb5440683).For more information or concerns about prescribed burns, please call the local District Offices at: Stanislaus Supervisor’s Office at: 209-532-3671; Calaveras Ranger District (RD) at 209-795-1381; Groveland RD at 209-962-7825; Mi-Wok RD at 209-586-3234; or Summit RD at 209-965-3434.