The following news release from Cal Fire was updated because the planned May 22 controlled burn on the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve west of Murrieta was canceled due to unfavorable burning conditions. The burn was re-scheduled for Thursday, May 23:
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Game will be conducting a controlled burn on 180 acres (83 acres on the Burro Mesa plot and 97 acres on Clay Hill, near Tenaja Road and Clinton Keith Road - TB 957- C3) on the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. Burning is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
The controlled burn is a part of CAL FIRE’s Vegetation Management Program (VMP); a fire prevention service that has conducted several controlled burns this year throughout the County with the goal of decreasing the density of wildland fuels. Once completed, this fuel-modified zone will assist the fire department in containing fires that might start in the area from spreading to surrounding communities.
This controlled burn operation will utilize CAL FIRE engines and CAL FIRE Conservation Camp fire crews. Burning operations will typically begin after 6:30 a.m. and conclude by noon the same day. Residents and commuters in southwest Riverside County may temporarily see or smell smoke in the Temecula and Murrieta valleys. The burning operation will only occur on permissive burn days as determined by the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department.
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