Fall Prescribed Burns Planned for Bald Hills

[00:00:00] Speaker A: This fall, Redwood national and State Parks plan to conduct a series of prescribed burns in the prairies and oak woodlands of the Bald Hills east of Oreck. Prescribed fire season in the parks begins in late September or as weather permits. KMUN News spoke with Leonard Rahmaker, deputy program manager for interpretation at Redwood national and State Parks, for more information about what prescribed burns are. [00:00:22] Speaker B: Prescribed burn is an opportunity to intentionally light on fire some areas with heavier fuel loads so that we can manage the burn in a way that's can be controlled on human terms and not fighting it as a wildfire at some other point down the line. [00:00:38] Speaker A: For thousands of years, the Yurok, Toloa and Chilala peoples actively managed prairies, woodlands, and parts of the coastal landscape now located within the parks through the use of periodic intentional fires. These controlled burns helped maintain open spaces for grazing and hunting elk and deer, supported the growth of vital resources like tan oak trees and basket weaving plants, kept travel routes clear and reduced parasites like ticks. Early European American settlers who later ranched the land continued the tradition of broadcast burning until the practice was banned by the state in the 1930s. Here's Raymaker with more on what prescribed burns do. [00:01:14] Speaker B: There's seven different burn units that are going to total about 1,000 acres altogether, and what this intentional burning does is it provides grazing and hunting areas for wildlife like elk and deer. It helps to maintain some of the natural resources that are native to the area, like tan oak trees, things like that, and just kind of maintains trail and travel corridors for wildlife and people in the area. [00:01:42] Speaker A: While the prescribed burns are happening in the Bald Hills, roadways will see more traffic and activity with fire personnel and equipment. Rainmaker elaborates on what people can expect. [00:01:51] Speaker B: To see during the burns over the next couple months. As these prescribed burns occur, there will likely be some additional activity personnel and equipment that'll be on or near the Bald Hills Road. So there's going to be additional people out there. There's probably going to be some smoke that might be lingering over the roadways. There might even be some traffic control in place while the operations are happening. Because some of these will be fairly close to the road. People should just be cautious for their own safety as well as for the crews that are out there working. [00:02:25] Speaker A: For more information about the role of prescribed fire in forest management, the website is www.nps.govtredw. this is Nat Cardos reporting for KMUN News.