Prescribed Burn Planned for Election Day. MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif.
These things always worry me
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. – If you see smoke rising around the Salinas Valley on election day, don’t worry! Cal Fire says it’s conducting a prescribed burn in the area of Old Stage Road at Crazy Horse Road.
The burn is approximately 1,000 acres of brush and grass that is part of a plan to reduce flammable vegetation and will be visible from the Salinas Valley, Monterey Peninsula, Marina, North Monterey County, San Juan Bautista and Hollister Areas.
The burn is scheduled to begin around 10:00 a.m. and last until 5:00 Tuesday night with prime ignition planned between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.
There will be 16 fire engines, 2 helicopters, 2 dozers, 4 hand crews and about 20 overhead personnel totaling roughly 150 personnel. Local Government cooperators include Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District, San Benito County Fire Department, Salinas City Fire Department, Monterey County Regional Fire District, Soledad Fire Department, Fort Hunter Ligget Fire Department and North Monterey County Fire Protection District.
CAL FIRE, along with the National Weather Service and Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District have worked cooperatively to plan this burn under the best weather conditions for this location.
The smoke from the controlled burn has hung heavily in the San Juan Bautista area all night and is currently at hazardous levels. Who is the genius that masterminded this controlled burn in 80 degree weather with little breeze to dilute the smoke just 2 days before rain is predicted? The impact here for our family is huge; my husband has heart and respiratory disease and even with all windows closed we are coughing. Our animals; dog, cat & horses cannot escape even a little bit and everything we own is permeated with wood smoke. We decided to leave to seek fresh air until this thick and dangerous smoke clears. Seems absolutely senseless to put the public at this much risk and inconvenience for the sake of a burn that does not even touch on the miles upon miles of brush that is in the surrounding hills here-seems like the big boys got to play as the expense of our community and environmental and personal health.