Date: June 28, 2011
First Burn of Season is a Collaborative Effort with Stanislaus National Forest
Yosemite National Park Fire Managers are planning a prescribed fire in the north western portion of the park near the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station on Highway 120 (Big Oak Flat Road) on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. The ignition of the burn is dependent on weather conditions. The total prescribed burn area will include 500 acres. The prescribed area is beginning to dry out from a heavy winter snowpack and fuel moistures and other fire factors within the burn unit are reaching optimal levels to successfully burn the unit. This will be the first prescribed burn of the 2011 fire season.
The Hodgdon Prescribed Burn will include 389 acres in Yosemite National Park and 111 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest. The fire will be managed as an interagency effort, with the agencies sharing personnel and equipment. It is estimated that the burn will take approximately three days to complete. Temperatures over the scheduled burn dates are predicted to be in the mid-70’s.
Smoke from the burn may be visible throughout the park, but may be more evident in the northern portion of the park. The goal of this prescribed burn is to reduce fire fuels near the park boundaries, Hodgdon Meadow Campground, the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station, and the Hodgdon residential area. This will be the first prescribed fire in this specific location, however there is evidence of natural fire history by burn scars on mature trees in the area.
For more information on this specific prescribed burn, or the fire program, please visit: www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/current_fire.htm.
