Del Albright

Fuel Reduction on Public Lands Fire Prevention with Direct Action Pile Burning By Del Albright, Sustainable Motorized Recreation Advocate  Depending on where you recreate and live and, of course, the weather, you may see this type of fuel reduction burning on federal lands this time of year. Usually, there will be signs along roadways where you can see the smoke so you don't report it (because it is controlled and conducted on purpose). What you will see are piles of debris, logging slash, and timber stand improvement trimmings and thinning. They may have sat over the winter with a tarp on them to dry them out for a good burn day in spring or early summer, perhaps even in fall. This is all good for the forest. The USDA Forest Service has undertaken a 10-year strategy to confront the wildfire crisis (especially in the West and particularly in CA). Speaking as someone who served for nearly 30 years in the wildland fire service and the same guy who wrote about how we are now in the Me...