MARIPOSA — The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit will be conducting a vegetation management training burn on June 7 – 10, 2022.
The vegetation management burn will take place on the Grupe Ranch located on Oak Grove Road. The prescribed fire will consist of burning 313 acres of annual grass, oak woodland, and sparse brush.
Burning will take place 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day.
The vegetation management fire will improve rangelands by promoting annual grasses, reduce fuel loading, and ladder fuels.
Image by Valtteri Arvonen.
About Ladder Fuels
Fuel that carries a fire in low-growing brush or vegetation up to taller vegetation (usually trees) is called ladder fuel. This can happen when the wind blows the flames higher into the treetops, and burn even more quickly. The term “ladder fuel” comes from the image of a fire climbing a ladder made of wood or other material. The “ladder” allows the fire to climb up and onto the next level. If there are no trees nearby, it may be possible for a small grass fire to burn itself out without spreading to other areas. However, if there are trees nearby, they can act as ladders and carry fire from ground level all the way up into the canopy where it burns much faster than it would on the ground.
About the Vegetation Management Program
The Vegetation Management Program (VMP) is a landowner cooperator program that focuses on the use of prescribed fire, and some mechanical means, for addressing wildland fire fuel hazards and other resource management issues on State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands. The VMP allows private landowners to enter into a contract with CAL FIRE to use prescribed fire to accomplish a combination of fire protection and resource management goals.
CAL FIRE Prescribed Fire Guidebook (PDF)
Image by Steve Buissinne.
