University, California Highway Patrol, Private Landowners, and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, aim to fulfill Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-05-19 (Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Report) issued on January 9, 2019. This report delivered recommendations to reduce public safety hazards associated with catastrophic wildfire and specifically prioritized 35 projects that will protect 200 of California’s most wildfire-vulnerable communities.The prescribed burn encompass the eastside of Hwy 41 from the Friant canal (Mile Marker 6.95) to Rd 200 (Mile Marker 17.91) in O’Neals. This project will help reduce the fire threat to unincorporated communities around Coarsegold, O’Neals and Hidden Lakes, which are isolated residential areas located along the Highway 41 corridor.
Fuels reduction activities will include removing thick vegetation and trimming trees along the Highway 41 corridor, primarily in the Rocky Cut area (Mile Marker 15.1 to 17.73) on private land and is not expected to impact traffic on Highway 41.
Once trees are trimmed and thick vegetation in removed, crews will conduct a burning operation to reduce annual grasses. This will create a large fuel break and will improve rangeland, while reducing highway hazards and high fire suppression costs. Traffic on Highway 41 may be impacted during the burning operation.
The current width of the treatment area ranges between 10 and 200 feet. Most areas are less than 50 feet of grass and light brush proposed for burning. The project will span approximately 11 miles along Highway 41 and will result in treatment of approximately 104 acres. Proposed plan to burn is late May, early June.
Historically, this portion of Hwy 41 has more wildland fires than any other in the Madera, Mariposa, Merced Unit. Since 2014 there have been approximately 67 fires in this area, including the Oakwood fire in 2017 that charred 1,431 acres of rangeland. In 2018 alone there were 14 fires that burned approximately 60 acres, resulting in roadway closures and high suppression costs.
For more information visit Fire.ca.gov
Source: CALFIRE
