FLOWERS GET A FIERY FAVOR CREWS SMOKE OUT RIVAL WEEDS AT CALIFORNIA POPPY RESERVE.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer LANCASTER - State parks and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County fire crews burned off more than 30 acres of nonnative weeds and low brush at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is a California wildlife reserve located in the rural westside of the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County. Constitutionally, it is a state park. Its namesake is the state flower, the California Poppy. to make room for next spring's poppies. Crews used drip torches to touch off fires near 160th Street West and Lancaster Road while other firefighters stood near the fire lines as monitors. ``Basically, what we do here is to burn out the competition for the poppies,'' said Randy Burt, an environmental services The various combinations of scientific, technical, and advisory activities (including modification processes, i.e., the influence of manmade and natural factors) required to acquire, produce, and supply information on the past, present, and future states of space, atmospheric, intern for the California Parks Department. ``It's been learned that burning helps the native plant community thrive,'' added Robin Kinmont-Gebo, a fire management assistant for the department. Nonnative plants could choke off the growth of poppies and other native wildflowers. Burning these rivals also leaves leaves ash deposits rich in soil nutrients, parks workers said. Planning starts more than 12 months in advance for each 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. in the 7-year-old program. Planners study precipitation, wind patterns, relative humidity relative humidity n. The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage. and the moisture of the plants. Ecologists also study the nesting patterns of several species of birds. The burns must be timed after the birds have moved on, officials said. ``There's a lot of preparation that goes into all these burns,'' Kinmont-Gebo said. The burn on Tuesday had been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 8 but was postponed because of wind. Although less than 2 percent of the 1,750-acre reserve was burned, officials say they burned enough to promote increased seed production. A wet winter would hide evidence of the burn, they said, and the first sprouts of native poppies are likely by January or early February. The poppy reserve is open from spring until the last blooms die off. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) A state Parks Department worker keeps watch on controlled burning of weeds Tuesday at the California Poppy California poppy: see poppy. California poppy Annual garden plant (Eschscholzia californica) in the poppy family, native to the western coast of North America and naturalized in parts of southern Europe, Asia, and Australia. Reserve in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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