CONTROLLED BURN PROJECT GETS NEW LIFE : ANGELES FOREST PERMITS SOUGHT FOR FIRST PLANNED FIRES SINCE '81.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer Chaparral-covered hillsides south of Acton are among the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los areas to be set afire Verb 1. set afire - set fire to; cause to start burning; "Lightening set fire to the forest" set ablaze, set aflame, set on fire combust, burn - cause to burn or combust; "The sun burned off the fog"; "We combust coal and other fossil fuels" in the first federal controlled burn Prescribed or controlled burning (back burning) is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for foresters. program since 1981, a plan aimed at saving homes in the path of potential wildfire and subsequent flooding. Forestry officials hope to obtain permits by the spring from the Air Quality Management Control District to set controlled fires in areas of the forest that come close to populated areas, said Mike Rogers Mike Rogers may refer to:
Initial burns would be conducted in the forest's Tujunga District, bordering the luxury homes of Sand Canyon, Arrestre and Moody canyons near Acton and forest land near Pasadena. ``We should be burning 20,000 acres a year in the Angeles,'' Rogers said. ``The closest we've gotten to that was in '79 when we burned about 11,000 acres.'' The sprawling Angeles Forest covers 690,000 acres. Three factors are involved in reinstituting a controlled burn program in the national forests - money, air-quality regulations and personnel. Congress and the administration agreed last year to increase the budget this year for prescribed burns by 49 percent to $24 million for national forest land alone. A share of that money would go far, local officials say, noting that it cost the nation's taxpayers $7.6 million to fight last summer's Castaic fire, 15 times the cost of burning off old brush in a controlled blaze. Angeles forest officials now are seeking exemptions from the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Air Quality Management District and Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and that strictly oversee setting of fires that add pollutants to the air. Forest officials argue that controlled burns produce far less pollution than the massive brush fires they are designed to prevent, and have sought the help of Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, to work with Congress to bypass air-quality regulations, Rogers said. Forest officials also must come up with a plan to ensure firefighters are available to burn the aging brush that fuels firestorms. The U.S. Forest Service assigns firefighters nationwide as needed as needed prn. See prn order. . It is not unusual for local crews to head to the Pacific Northwest when federal land there is burning. ``We would need assurances that we have the resources we need once we scheduled a date for a prescribed burn,'' Rogers said. In fact, the national forest controlled burn program dried up with the six-year drought that first hit the Western states in 1985, Rogers said. The lack of rain caused horrific fire seasons, and firefighters were needed to battle firestorms rather than methodically set controlled burns, he explained. Forest Service officials last year laid out a five-year plan Five-Year Plan, Soviet economic practice of planning to augment agricultural and industrial output by designated quotas for a limited period of usually five years. that calls for burning and pruning overgrown overgrown said of a part that has not been kept trimmed. overgrown hoof overgrown hooves put unusual stresses on bones and tendons and allow for distortion of the wall and sole. chaparral, oak and conifer conifer (kŏn`ĭfûr) [Lat.,=cone-bearing], tree or shrub of the order Coniferales, e.g., the pine, monkey-puzzle tree, cypress, and sequoia. Most conifers bear cones and most are evergreens, though a few, such as the larch, are deciduous. woodlands on a 1,542-acre parcel in the park's Arrastre and Moody watersheds, south of Soledad Canyon Road. By using controlled burns, the forest service hopes to encourage new plant growth, improve wildlife habitat and protect stands of centuries-old trees, including Douglas firs. The plan called for burning chaparral and chamisal, and removing thick brush that now hugs the base of trees. In a wildfire, the underbrush could act as a ladder for flames, enabling them to reach treetops. |
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