ST. HELENA >> Cal Fire will be conducting a large amount of pile burning at the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest throughout the winter. The forest remains closed to all public use due to hazardous conditions as a result of the Valley Fire.
Because of the fire and drought-induced bark beetle mortality, 99 percent of the trees on the forest were destroyed. Over the past year the Department and Forest management staff have aggressively been salvage logging to remove these standing dead trees in preparation for replanting.
As a result of this logging there are hundreds of residual slash piles that must be disposed of. Disposal of this material is not feasible by other means due to the volume of the material, number of piles, and time frame of which it must be disposed of.
According to Mike Wilson of Cal Fire’s Sonoma Lake Napa Unit, it is the goal of the department to restore the forest to a condition that is safe for public access. Allowing wood cutting, trail access, and camping is an important part of having this public land in Lake County. Burning the slash piles as soon as possible is a large step towards attaining this goal of opening up the forest, Wilson reported.
Five teams of two firefighters will be assigned to conduct these pile burns throughout the winter beginning immediately on permissive burn days. A large scale smoke management plan has been completed in coordination with the Sacramento Air Resources Board and the Lake County Air Quality Management District.
Department staff will follow the same rules and regulations that apply to the public.
