The Wallow West, Unit 4 East was blacklined during the week of May 14 to secure perimeter edges by burning fuels adjacent to control lines. As rain arrived and high humidities persisted, fire managers were unable to continue prescribed fire operations due to unfavorable weather conditions. The project area has now returned to conditions that are conducive to meeting landscape objectives. Firefighters plan to continue prescribed fire operations between May 30 and June 2, 2024 to complete the remaining 1,400-acres in the interior portion of the burn unit.
The project area is located 16 miles southwest of Alpine on Forest Road (FR) 25. The project area boundaries are east of FR 8780, west of FR 25H and the Black River. The southern boundary is a dozer line that was constructed during the Dart fire in 2023, and the northern boundary is FR 25.
Forest restoration objectives include reducing dead and down fuels from the Wallow fire, reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire by bringing the area into desired conditions, and enhancing herbaceous plants for forage.
The historic PS Knoll fire lookout tower is within the footprint of the Unit 4 East burn area, and fire crews cleared brush and other vegetation in the vicinity to protect this value at risk.
Smoke may be visible on FR 24 and FR 25 and may drift towards Hannagan Meadow and the Blue community. Information on air quality is available at https://www.airnow.gov/.
Prescribed fires support land management objectives by improving plant and wildlife habitat, reducing the threat of invasive species on the landscape, and help protect communities from extreme wildfires. This prescribed fire is within the Four Forest Restoration Initiative area (4FRI) and is part of the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy which aims to increase the use of fire on the landscape and other treatments to improve forest health.
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