CAL FIRE cancels planned burn along Highway 128

(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)

UPDATE: Shortly after this story was published, CAL FIRE issued a second press release stating the planned burn has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

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CAL FIRE will carry out a prescribed burn along a stretch of Highway 128 in Solano and Yolo counties next week, the agency announced on Friday.

The planned burn is scheduled to take place between Monday, May 27 and Friday, May 31, as long as weather conditions are favorable. Fire activity will start around 9 a.m. and conclude by approximately 5 p.m., with fire personnel monitoring burned-out areas throughout the evening for flare-ups.

The burn is intended to clear out vegetation ahead of wildfire season, and is a technique used to keep any unplanned fires from growing in size. Past fuel breaks have been particularly important for keeping the nearby community of Winters safe, particularly the city’s new Golden Bear development, the agency affirmed.

Drivers taking Highway 128 during the planned burn will encounter single-lane traffic control during the exercise, CAL FIRE said.

“The completed line will be approximately six miles long, ranging from approximately 10 feet wide to 150 feet wide,” a CAL FIRE spokesperson said. “The project utilizes existing ranch roads, connecting them with hand-line constructed by CAL FIRE crews to minimize the impact to the environment.”

The agency said prescribed burns are “carefully planned” events that take air quality into consideration. The burn scheduled for the end of the month will comply with requirements set forth by the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, the agency promised.

The burn will involve CAL FIRE, CalTrans, the Napa-Solano Audubon Society, the Yolo County Resource Conservation District, the Yolo County Office of Emergency Services and local landowners in Solano and Yolo counties.