Monday, April 23, 2012

CALFIRE requiring burn permits May 1, 2012

CAL FIRE NEWS RELEASE
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Tuolumne - Calaveras

CONTACT:  Nancy Longmore, Fire Prevention Specialist II, 209/754-3831
RELEASE DATE:  April 23, 2012

Burn Permits Required May 1, 2012

San Andreas – Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at 8AM, the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) will require burning permits within State Responsibility Areas of Tuolumne County, Calaveras County, Eastern Stanislaus County and Eastern San Joaquin County. 


Until CAL FIRE stations are fully staffed later in the season, permits will be available only during business hours Monday through Friday, at the following locations:

  • CAL FIRE Headquarters, 785 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas (closed from noon to 1PM)
  • Twain Harte FFS, 22978 Meadow Drive, Twain Harte
  • Station 51, 1950 Hillsdale Drive, Mono Village, Sonora
  • Blanchard FFS, 2990 Highway 132, La Grange
  • Groveland CSD, 18930 Highway 120, Groveland
  • Ebbetts Pass FPD, 1037 Blagen Road, Arnold
  • Ebbetts Pass FPD Station 3, 40 Canyon View Drive, Hathaway Pines

Remember that personnel may be away from the station for extended periods of time when they are responding to emergencies.

Burn permit terms include limiting pile size to a maximum of four feet by four feet (four feet in diameter, and four feet high) and clearing down to bare mineral soil 10 feet from the outer edges of burn piles. Burn hours will remain open until further notice, but outdoor burning may be done ONLY on permissive burn days. Remember that burn day status is determined on the basis of air quality: how quickly smoke will disperse. Therefore, many permissible burn days are very windy. Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Chief Brian Kirk would like everyone to remember that even if it is a permissible burn day, never burn on windy days. Have tools and water close by in order to suppress any escape from your burning operation.

Wildfire is coming. Are you ready?  “Getting your property ready for the coming fire season by creating100 feet of defensible space around all structures is an excellent way to protect not only your home, but your neighborhood and community as well,” Chief Kirk says.

It is your responsibility to check burn day status by calling your local Air Pollution Control District with jurisdiction over your area.

Calaveras County: 209/754-6600
Tuolumne County: 209/533-5598
San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties: 877/429-2876