|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Mount Diablo State Park could be on fire this week.
This isn’t the prognostication of some super psychic meteorologist, but a notice from California State Parks, which plans to conduct prescribed burns on the mountain on one or more days between Monday and Wednesday.
The state agency said Friday all burning depends on weather and air quality conditions. If weather or vegetation conditions aren’t conducive for burning and smoke dispersal, the planned burns will be rescheduled.
The burn will cover up to 104 acres in the Mitchell Canyon area of the park.
The park is planning to close a portion of the parking lot at Mitchell Canyon before the burns. It will also close trails, including Bruce Lee Road, Water Tower Road, Murchio Road, Oak Road, Coulter Pine Trail, Eagle Peak Trail, and Mitchell Rock Trail.
Other park roads, trails, and facilities outside of the burn area will remain open.
Although prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than wildfires, communities near Mount Diablo, including Clayton, may experience smoke from the burning operations.
All burns are coordinated and planned with the help of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, with which California State Parks will be in close coordination to minimize smoke in surrounding communities.
These burns aim to benefit the park and its neighbors by enhancing habitats, managing invasive species, reducing wildfire risk, reducing encroaching woody vegetation, improving wildlife habitat, promoting native plant diversity, and restoring the natural fire regime.
For more information and specific timing of burn days, people can visit the Mount Diablo State Park prescribed burn page at https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=31554 and the park’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MountDiabloStatePark.
To be added to the Diablo Range District burn notification list, email fire.diablorange@parks.ca.gov.
— Story by Tony Hicks, Bay City News Service
