YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park firefighters conducted two days of ignition operations and completed the 150 acre Wawona Northwest Segment B Prescribed Fire Monday evening, Apr. 22.
Firefighters have begun mop-up activities to secure the fire perimeter. Those actions may include burning out of interior islands and pockets of unburned fuel that could flare up and threaten existing fire perimeter lines.(photo – various fire crews working on this fire project from Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Sierra National Forest, North Lake Tahoe, Point Reyes National National Seashore and Yosemite National Park.)
Active burn down will last 1 – 2 weeks. Community members and visitors will continue to observe crews from various federal and state agencies conducting mop-up operations.
The primary objective of the prescribed fire was to reduce hazardous fuels within the mixed conifer forest adjacent to the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) community of Wawona. This project creates a continuous area of reduced fuel by linking together multiple previous fires and treatments including the 2007 and 2008 Wawona Northwest prescribed fires, the 2007, lightning caused, Jack wildfire, and a series of mechanical vegetation thinning projects in the 2000s.
A secondary objective is ecosystem restoration. Applying fire under prescribed conditions mimics the frequent, low intensity lightning caused fires that occurred in Sierras prior to the exclusion of fire which began over 100 years ago under aggressive fire suppression policies.
Historically, natural fire burned an average of 16,000 acres annually in Yosemite and played an integral role in shaping Yosemite’s ecosystems. In the absence of frequent fire, unnatural levels of forest biomass have accumulated which has put many of Yosemite’s values at risk, including neighboring communities, and natural and cultural features. As climate changes, these values become increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire.
Smoke will be present during the mop-up activities particularly during late evening and early morning hours. Smoky conditions will diminish each day as the fire area cools. Fire managers will continue working with the Mariposa County Air Pollution District (MCAPCD).
A burn permit was issued to the park by MCAPCD prior to the start of ignitions. Smoke monitoring equipment was installed within the community and will continue to be monitored. Community members who are sensitive to smoke may want to close their windows and doors during the evening hours in order to reduce their exposure.
For additional Information
• Fire Information and Education: gary_wuchner@nps.gov; (209) 375-9574
• Yosemite Fire Management Website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/current_fire.htm.
• Air Quality: http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/aqmonitoring.htm
• Park WEBCAMS: Park http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Wildland-Fire/124632964255395
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/YosemiteFire
