LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A restoration project at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park is set to get underway this week with a prescribed burn.

California State Parks in cooperation with the Lake County Fire Protection District are planning the prescribed burn in the park on Saturday, Feb. 20, Weather permitting.

This effort will be carried out in cooperation with other partner agencies.

The burn is the first step in a new project that the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association will undertake, in cooperation with State Parks, to restore the park’s three-acre entrance meadow, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire.

AMIA has received a $9,026 grant from the California State Parks Foundation’s Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to conduct the work, as Lake County News reported this week.

State Parks said such burns are part of the prescribed fire program for vegetation management, hazardous fuel load reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and other ecological benefits.

This treatment will enhance the health of the park by removing diseased materials, restoring essential nutrients to the soil, and reducing the chance of a catastrophic wildfire.

In grassland and scrub areas, fire will be reintroduced as a component of the ecosystem on a rotational basis. The prescribed burns will also help in reducing dangerous fuel loads throughout wildland areas.

All burning depends on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions, such as weather or vegetation are not conducive for burning, the burns will be rescheduled.

Some public trails near the burn area will be closed the day of the burn. People traveling near the fire burn areas may see smoke from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the burn.

In the unlikely event you smell smoke, Lake County officials urge you to take precautions and use common sense to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. Prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire does.

If you see or smell smoke in your surroundings, officials recommend avoiding strenuous outdoor activity and remaining indoors as much as possible. These precautions are especially important for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory and heart conditions.

Please use extreme caution while driving near prescribed fire operations due to fire personnel and equipment in the area.

California State Parks and Lake County Fire Protection District are adhering to the safety protocols set by public health officials and have made accommodations to limit exposure among first responders and field crews to protect staff from COVID-19 during prescribed burns.