Cal Fire training to produce smoke

Cal Fire will conduct a live fire training this week near Groveland.

The three-day exercise at Crook Ranch, north of Groveland and east of Pine Mountain Lake, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday. 

Training is anticipated to continue at 10 a.m. each day until it’s completed about 5 p.m. Thursday.

About 100 acres of grass and oak understory in the area are planned to be burned if conditions are conducive, Cal Fire said. Five fire engines, two hand crews and one bulldozer will be on hand to assist with the exercise.

Cal Fire said the purpose of the training is to instruct fireline supervisors from around the state in the proper techniques for planning and conducting suppression operations during wildfires.

Students will learn how to properly ignite and control fire that is lit outside the perimeter of an approaching wildfire, which is a technique used to starve wildfires of available vegetation and help stop their forward spread.

According to Cal Fire, the communities of Groveland, Big Oak Flat and Pine Mountain Lake will benefit from the training burn because it will reduce dry vegetation that could fuel wildfires in the area. 

The location was also selected to reduce the presence of Medusahead, which is identified by the Tuolumne County Agriculture Department as an aggressive noxious weed.