Earlier this year in Nevada County, there were multiple prescribed burns applied to improve defensible space. After thinning trees or crown fuels, removing ladder fuels (small trees, lower branches, tall shrubs), and heavy fuel accumulations, surface fuels that remain still pose a problem. All of the accumulated needles, leaves, and branches, called the surface fuels, can readily catch on fire from embers—the small burning pieces that can travel miles ahead of a wildfire.
Prescribed burning is one of the most effective tools for reducing these surface fuels. Low intensity fire can consume these fuels and at the same time release nutrients back into the soil for the trees and plants. It also makes it easier for rain to reach the soil, a necessity for healthy forests.
Below are three examples of successful burns in Nevada County, including two from NCRCD workshops and another we helped out at in the Lower Colfax Firewise Community.
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