Prescribed fire canceled

Bureau of Land Management officials have canceled a prescribed burn in Markleeville, Calif.

Fire manager Leonard Wehking said after an October burn at Mount Como got out of control and burned 1,200 acres more than the planned 400 acres, the BLM is wary of testing the conditions.

"We were within prescribed limits, but we knew about the wind today and it looks like we are going to get weather a little early," he said Wednesday. "Besides, the smoke would go the wrong way into a residential area."

The burn, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, was designated for 34 acres near a residential area of Turtle Rock. Wehking said it wasrescheduled for spring, 2001.

"It can't be too dry and can't be too wet - EPA smoke conditions are more strict than they used to be," he said.

Also of concern to land managers is an archeologist's recommendation to look at the land for evidence of American Indian residency. The last time an archeological survey was done was approximately eight years ago when standards were different.

Although it would not be a violation of law to go ahead and do the burn, Wehking said sensitivity toward the Indian community should be a priority. The previous study of the land has "been on the shelf for awhile," he said.

A prescribed burn targeting 400 acres on Mount Como in the Pine Nut Mountains on Oct. 19 raged out of control the next day. Within three days the fire was under control. Higher than expected winds hampered firefighter's efforts to keep the fire within the prescribed area.

"If this had happened in July we'd probably have to go all the way to Yerington to make it stop," BLM Spokesman Mark Struble said at the time. "It we had known there would be gusts 15 to 20 mph higher than expected, we wouldn't have done the prescribed burn."

Fires in June near Los Alamos, N.M., went out of control, burning an estimated 47,000 acres. The loss of dozens of homes and dislocation of 405 families motivated a nationwide moratorium on prescribed burns and prompted local agencies to take another look at their fire management plans.

One fire manager estimated that the Los Alamos situation would result in new standards for local prescribed burns.

Prescribed burns are used to reduce the buildup of forest fuels that create dangerous fire conditions.