Posts Tagged: prescribed fire

New California Agriculture article highlights effects of prescribed fire on young Sierra Nevada Mixed-Conifers

California's forests have long been adapted to fire, where the presence of regular, low-severity fires helped maintain forest health. After decades of fire suppression, many private forest landowners are interested in reintroducing fire to their...

More than Fighting Fires: A Conversation with CALFIRE San Luis Obispo Unit Forester Dave Erickson

This July, San Luis Obispo county's first cultural burn since 1850 took place. This reintroduction of indigenous, ‘good fire' to the landscape was led by...

Public invited to see ‘good fire’ Oct. 5 at Central Coast fair

Learn the how, where and why fire is used to manage the natural landscape at the Central Coast Good Fire Fair on Saturday, Oct. 5. The fair is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton in Santa Cruz County. The event is sponsored by the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network and California State Parks.

“You can witness a live prescribed fire in the redwood grove and learn about using fire in our coastal ecosystems,” said Barb Satink Wolfson, UC Cooperative Extension fire advisor for San Benito, Santa Clara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

Representatives of California State Parks, CALFIRE, indigenous groups and the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association are scheduled to talk about how they work with fire.

The Good Fire Fair will offer educational activities for children and adults:

• Learn how to safely build, tend and extinguish a campfire
• Watch live burns of piles and redwood understory growth (likely between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., depending on the weather)
• Savor sandwiches, burgers and Venezuelan food from local food trucks
• Observe demonstrations and visit informative booths
• Learn how to make your home more resilient to wildfire
• Test your fire knowledge and win prizes

“Kids will get to see a wildland fire engine up close, try fire science experiments and play educational games. Bring a camera,” said Satink Wolfson. “Knowledge feeds the soul, but two of Santa Cruz's best food trucks will feed your hunger!”

The event is free, but parking at the park is $10. No registration required.

 

Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought

Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...

Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.

A patch of former lawn, mostly dead, with a few green weeds and Bermudagrass

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned — or thinned

  A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques — prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both — are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in...

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