Photos: HCPBA..

Press release from the Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association:

The Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association will be conducting prescribed burns throughout Humboldt County this week. Burns are planned on three private ranches in Briceland, Honeydew, and Bridgeville, and will focus on reducing invasive grasses and improving habitat and forage. Weather is favorable for burning, but smoke may be visible in nearby areas.  A qualified burn boss will lead the burns, local fire departments will provide engines, and landowners and other community members will assist. Community leaders from other parts of California are also here this week to gain skills and learn more about Humboldt County’s prescribed fire program. 

The Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association is a cooperative group made up of landowners, volunteer fire departments, non-governmental organizations, and other community members who work together to use fire as a tool. There are many prescribed burn associations in other parts of the country, but the Humboldt County PBA is the first of its kind in the West! Projects in the last year have targeted non-native invasive weeds, coyote brush in coastal rangelands, Douglas-fir encroachment in oak woodlands, grasshopper herbivory in a vineyard, and Himalayan blackberry. Prescribed fire is becoming an increasingly important tool for reducing fuels and maintaining healthy ecosystems, and Humboldt County should be proud to be leading the state with this community-based effort. 

The group is open to anyone who is interested in gaining skills in prescribed fire, and any landowners who would like to use prescribed fire on their properties. For more information, or to get involved in the Humboldt County PBA, please contact Lenya Quinn-Davidson and/or Jeffery Stackhouse, Advisors with University of California Cooperative Extension, at 707-272-0637,lquinndavidson@ucanr.edu or jwstackhouse@ucanr.edu.

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