Fires Spotted Saturday Morning Between Cuddy Valley and Lockwood Were Permitted Burns

Frazier Park, CA (Saturday, March 26 at 1;50 p.m.)—A Pine Mountain Club resident heading out for a day off the mountain suddenly saw alarming smoke as he was progressing from the Mil Potrero Y into Cuddy Valley. He said the smoke was billowing up from the mountainous area between Cuddy and Lockwood Valley regions. He altered his trip and took a right at Lockwood Valley Road to drive to the Chuchupate Ranger Station.  He was hoping to see if the U.S. Forest Service fire crew was there. Meanwhile, he also called The Mountain Enterprise. We called local fire stations to ask if there were prescribed burns underway by USFS  or Kern County.

Kern County Fire Station #58 in Pine Mountain said they did not have any prescribed burns “on the board,” but they did a search of Kern County records and found permits by private parties to do supervised burns today. Thank you to Firefighter Nelson for assisting.

A PROPOSAL:  It is good to know our neighbors are staying vigilant, and we appreciate the assistance of local firefighters to keep the public informed. When the USFS  or Kern County firefighters conduct a prescribed burn, they nearly always post signs to alert the public  to what is taking place. We were told that private parties who have obtained permits for a burn on their personal property are not required to post signs to inform the public. But in times like these, when a spark from a truck brake or a flicked cigarette can ignite a wildfire, everyone is staying vigilant. We need to share information about private  permits to alert neighbors that a burn is taking place in their vicinity. The smoke is often visible for 20 to 30 miles. It doesn’t come tagged with a permit number.

Responsible people who are staying alert should be able to get a quick confirmation that a supervised burn is underway, so they can go about their business, but still keep a wary eye out for unexpected wind shifts and gusts. We were told that this fire was within the jurisdiction of Kern County Fire Department’s Frazier Park Station #58.  — Patric Hedlund, TME

 

 

This is part of the March 25, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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