Brush Pile Burning

Brush Pile Burning is a fuels reduction technique usually used after treatments like mechanical thinning or mastication.  Residual material is piled into low mounds and spaced so that the sparks from one pile are unlikely to ignite another. In this way, a few piles can be burned safely at the same time.

Not all brush piles are burned immediately.  Some that are intended to burn can remain on the forest floor for years waiting for the proper season, or funds to finish the work, or permits.  Burn permits are required in many areas of the Sierra.

Not all brush piles are intended to burn. Some are positioned for wildlife habitat, and left to become mulch.