There’s smoke in Quincy, but it’s a prescribed burn

Yes, there’s smoke in Quincy and the American Valley, but it’s coming from a prescribed burn being conducted at Feather River College. FRC President Kevin Trutna said that after some test fires were lit to determine spread and consumption levels, the four-acre planned burn began about 1 p.m. today.

This burn is designed to reduce fuels on the forest floor and make the campus’ forest more resilient to wildfire. Trutna said this burn will serve as an excellent training opportunity for students and other community members aiming to learn about the use of fire as a land management tool.

Several agencies are involved in the project and include: The Watershed Training Center, CAL FIRE, USFS, Feather River RCD, Plumas County Fire Safe Council, Plumas Underburn Co-op, UCANR, CSU Chico’s Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, Quincy Volunteer Fire Department, and more.

Personnel, including the operation’s burn boss, will remain on campus overnight to monitor the burn.

Funding to support Feather River College forest health projects has been provided by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.