Smoke will be coming from FRC this Sunday, but it’s part of a plan
By Debra Moore
Quincy area residents shouldn’t be alarmed if they see smoke coming from the Feather River College campus this Sunday, Nov. 22.
Originally the Nature Conservancy and the college, with a host of other participants, planned to conduct a prescribed burn on that date, but it’s too wet due to recent rains. Instead, the day will be devoted to burning slash piles that have accumulated on the property.
“It’s too wet to conduct the burn,” Derek Lerch, FRC’s vice president of instruction said during a Nov. 19 meeting of the board of trustees. “It’s too damp … what we would want to burn would just smolder.”
So Sunday will provide a training day for environmental studies students, working in conjunction with Forest Service, the Feather River Resource Conservation District, the Plumas County Fire Safe Council and other agencies.
Trustee Trent Saxton asked that in light of the most recent fires near Vinton, Doyle and Reno, due to high winds, is wind taken into consideration when deciding when to burn. Lerch assured him that it’s definitely taken into consideration.
College President Kevin Trutna said that any decision to introduce fire on campus is taken very seriously.
Looking forward, the college would like to proceed with its prescribed burn plans as weather allows.
This weekend’s fire activities
In addition to the burn taking place on Sunday, Nov. 22, burning will occur on the west side of Highway 70, on Saturday, Nov. 21. Participants will meet at the Feather River College main parking lot at 8 a.m for a morning briefing. Burning operations are set to begin at 9 a.m. with operations wrapped up by 5 p.m.
The schedule is similar on Sunday for the college with participants gathering at 8 a.m. in the main parking lot for a briefing and then going to the burn area at 8:30 a.m. The operations on Sunday should conclude by 4 p.m.
