Pile burning efforts underway in Los Padres National Forest to prevent wildfires

The Los Padres Forest Service had to start their annual pile burning late due to the poor weather conditions and the Thomas Fire.

Patches of controlled fire could be seen throughout the mountain side of Los Padres National Forest.

“We finally were able to start conducting our pile burning for the year,” said Chip Laugharn, with Los Padres National Forest. “Unfortunately it was postponed because of our weather. It was either too hot, too dry, or too windy.”

The annual pile burning usually takes place in December but the Thomas Fire also put those plans on hold. Tuesday was the first day that it was safe for the forest service to ignite the piles of dead trees.

“Because of the extensive drought and then bug kill, we lost over 1,000 trees,” said Laugharn. “So either the trees were falling down on their own or we were taking the trees down just to reduce the hazards. What we are trying to do now is get in and clean up behind those trees, cut the limbs, and make it in small little piles that we can burn.”

Removing dead trees also helps reduce the fuel which helps prevent the spread of wildfires. The forest service works closely with the California Air Resources Board in order to minimize the impacts of the air quality in surrounding communities.

“There is not that much smoke production,” said Laugharn. “We are able to control the fire and then if it gets too smoky, or if the smoke is going in the wrong direction then we can stop lighting and put the fire out completely.”

Before their shift is over, crews mop up and make sure the fire is completely out.