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The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection will conduct a small prescribed burn Monday (July 18) on 1.2 acres of grassland in Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, according to a press release from Stanford.
Fire crews will stand by to monitor the burn, which is scheduled to take place “mid-morning” and last about an hour.
The area being burned was part of a 14-year study on how ecosystems respond to climate change. With the intensive background information gathered by the previous study, the area will provide research material on fire management under present and future conditions, the release stated.
Let us hope that they will pay vet close attention and that the burn will be confined to the planned 1.2 acres.
I’m the administrative director of Jasper Ridge.
While the area to be burned is quite small, about 1.2 acres, a mowed perimeter has been created. The burn plan is based on weather, topography and fuel conditions. We have prepared the area by mowing and the mowed lines will be wet down just before the burn. All this is preventive to minimize the risk of the fire escaping. There will be two Type 3 engines and crews as well as a water tender and crew from the Woodside Fire Protection District for this effort. CAL FIRE manages the actual fire with hose laid and connected to a nearby hydrant. Finally, fire fighters and Jasper Ridge staff will be monitoring the site for several hours after the burn.
I favor an expanded, proactive controlled-burn program to remove the 70-year or so build-up of fuel we keep hearing about. No one likes the interim results, but it is the only way to forestall an utter conflagration.