Now is an excellent time of year to make your property more fire-resistant before the fire season starts. Nevada County residents may burn dry green waste on permissible burn days. The National Weather Service is forecasting winter weather this weekend and into early next week which could lead to potential burn days. Please keep an eye out for weather updates as the week progresses, check to see if it is a burn day, and see the tips below on burn pile safety. 

Pile burning is an efficient tool that helps residents develop defensible space and implement good land stewardship practices. In last week’s newsletter, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) shared a great success story of a Nevada County couple in their 80s, Paul and Nancy, who cleared 550ft of vegetation along their roadway to make their property more resilient to wildfire. While folks may utilize burn piles as a tool for wildfire mitigation in unincorporated Nevada County, burning is prohibited in the city limits of Grass Valley and Nevada City. In the Town of Truckee, a burn permit from the Truckee Fire Protection District is required. 

 As residents wisely use these cooler, wetter months to make their properties more resilient to wildfire, we have a few tips and tricks to share to keep everyone safe:

• Check with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District to see if it is a burn day
  1. Western Nevada County: (530) 274-7928 
  2. Eastern Nevada County: (530) 582-1027
• Maintain a 10-foot diameter around piles down to bare soil.
• Burn dry, dead vegetative material only. 
• Keep a water source and shovel on hand.
• Tend to your pile always.
• Check weather conditions; refrain from burning on windy days
• Burn between 9 am-3 pm for maximum smoke dispersion.

For more information on how you can better protect your property and prepare for the potential of wildfire, please visit our Emergency Preparedness Toolkit.