The Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks is partnering with Sac Metro Fire for a controlled burn in the Dry Creek Parkway. The burn is expected to take place sometime during the week of May 23-27, pending Sacramento County Air Quality Management District conditions.
The primary goal of this prescribed burn is to facilitate positive environmental changes, such as removing foreign plant seedlings, enhancing native plant growth and animal diversity, and controlling invasive weeds, such as yellow thistle and black mustard. Because of the simultaneous requirement for killing the non-native plant species and stimulation of native grass and flower species, prescribed burning for this location is the best course of action.
As a training tool for firefighters, there is no alternative for live fire, for it is in this environment firefighters best learn how to control wildland fires. An Incident Commander will be on scene at all times, managing the burn in a manner that will minimize both smoke production and the impact to sensitive areas.
Additional fire fuel reduction measures include mowing/spraying firebreaks as well as animal grazing. The attached map shows the 2016 plan for fire fuel reduction in the Dry Creek Parkway. Additionally, in the next week, our website will be updated to reflect the fire fuel reduction plans for the entire Regional Park system. The link to this information can be found here: http://www.regionalparks.saccounty.net/Rangers/Pages/FireRiskReduction.aspx