Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/90113
8A Daily News – Friday, October 26, 2012 The Tehama County Genealogical Society is proud to have as guest speakers Marti Leicester and David Nopel, both native Californians and authors of the recently published book, "The Humboldt Wagon Road." The Humboldt Wagon Road was constructed during the 1860s and connected Chico and Susanville with off-shoot roads to the Nevada and Idaho silver The Humboldt Wagon Road to be the topic of free lecture mines. The story of the road reflects the local history of this area. The program will include a Power Point presentation of many never-before-published historic photographs and there will be time for questions and answers after the program. The presentation will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Red Bluff Community Center, Fall prescribed burning to begin soon As the cooler fall weather contin- ues, area residents and visitors to the Lassen National Forest could start to notice some smoke in the air. That's because changing whether condi- tions that provide for safe and effi- cient burning mean prescribed burn- ing programs can get underway. Pro- jects will be implemented when air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and fuel mois- ture are in the desired range, or in so- called prescription. Objectives of prescribed burning are to: and fallen trees, dead branches, and brush) that can feed catastrophic wildfires, such as the recent fires across the west • Restore fire-resilient forests by reintroducing fire to ecosystems, thereby helping to return the land- scape to one that more closely mim- ics the natural fire regime • Improve ecological services, via the nutrients released back into the soil from consumed fuels, leading to greater understory productivity and more forage for wildlife • Reduce hazardous fuels (dead burning done during prescribed treatments also offers benefits to sur- rounding communities. "Treated areas are used to help defend communities against fire," said Debbie Mayer, District Fire Management Officer on the Hat Creek Ranger District. "In several instances on the Lassen National Forest, for example the 2008 Peter- son and 2009 Butte fires, treated areas aided in reducing fire size and lowering suppression costs." Research has shown that both fire intensity and tree mortality are reduced in stands that are both thinned and prescribe-burned when compared to adjacent untreated stands. The Cone Fire, within the Blacks Mountain Experimental For- est on the Eagle Lake Ranger Dis- trict, is one such example. The combination of thinning and Two precautions will be taken to minimize the amount of smoke in the air. First, burning will only take place on permissible burn days. Sec- ond, the Forest will coordinate with other public agencies and industrial landowners in the areas surrounding the burn locations to help limit the smoke present in the air at any one time. vest units to be implemented this fall, weather permitting. Located ten miles northwest of the town of Chester. expect to see fire equipment and smoke activity associated with the following projects on the three dis- tricts of the Lassen. The Eagle Lake Ranger District (ELRD) is preparing to implement the fall prescribed fire program, which could begin as early as Octo- ber and continue through December. Some 1,620 acres of understory burning is planned in the following locations: Area residents and visitors can acres • Crater Mountain area: 500 acres • Pegleg Mountain area: 400 Butte is the only project area located within 10 miles of a community (approximately six miles north of Spaulding). Depending on weather conditions during the prescribed burning, smoke could be visible from Susanville, the Eagle Lake basin, and while traveling on High- ways 44 and 139, and County Road A21. • Bidwell Springs area: 220 acres • Harvey Valley area: 200 acres • Dow Butte: 300 acres. Dow acres, located five miles due west of the community of Butte Meadows and nine miles north-northeast of the community of Cohasset, in Butte County. Smoke from this project will likely be visible from the Cen- tral Valley. • Cold Springs Project: 366 1500 S. Jackson St. The authors will have the book for sale after the program. ed. For further information, call 529-6650. The public is cordially invit- available to sign copies of his book, Obsession to Con- vict: One Man's Escape from the Justice System 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 at Book Barn, 619 Oak St. in Red Bluff. When his son was charged with murder, Les Morse Book signing event Les Morse, a resident of Shasta Lake City, will be and his family were thrown into a world that most fam- ilies would be unable to withstand. Obsession to Convict offers an eye-opening account of how the court system can be abused by those in charge of our life and liberty. Discover the reality of courtroom justice in this compelling mem- oir. burning projects are planned throughout the district. Ignition of these pile-burning projects will begin as soon as an acceptable level of fall precipitation has occurred and will continue through winter and possibly into spring, depending on conditions. Additionally, several large pile- For more information, call Travis King at 888-361- 9473 or tking@tatepublishing.com. Winter travel reminder Burning of both tractor and hand piles across the ALRD, for the pur- pose of reducing surface fuel accu- mulations on Lassen National Forest lands adjacent to communities. The following, while not a comprehen- sive list, gives the locations of the major pile-burning areas within the ALRD: • Jonesville DFPZ: 70 acres adja- cent to the community of Jonesville in Butte County burning of approximately 400 acres of tractor piles and 70 acres of hand piles are planned throughout the ELRD once significant rain or snow- fall has occurred. The Almanor Ranger District (ALRD) is planning to implement two prescribed fire underburn pro- jects - one this fall, weather permit- ting, and the second this winter sometime after January, as follows: • West Dusty DFPZ Project: Up to 148 acres within past timber har- In addition to these treatments, rie Fire burn area in Plumas County • Warner DFPZ: 28 acres near the Feather River and Willow Creek Home Sites in Plumas County • Mill Creek Fuel Break: 9 acres around the community of Mill Creek in Tehama County There will also be various pile- burning operations covering approximately 1,000 acres throughout HCRD in the North 49, Old Station, Pittville, Backbone, Reading fire, Leap, and Legume areas. Pile burning may extend into December depending on weather conditions. For more information, call Fuels Officer Patrick Doyle or Fuels Tech Jennifer Hensel at 530-258-2141. • Storrie: 23 acres within the Stor- REDDING – Caltrans would like to remind motorists traveling in northern California to be vigilant regarding winter driving and be prepared on the road- ways for possible changes in the weather or road con- ditions. With the current rain and snowfall prediction, now is the time to become familiar with the informa- tional tools and tips available on the internet and to pre- pare for travel in the north state. The website links list- ed below have the traveling public in mind and are readily available on the Caltrans District 2 webpage www.caltrans2.info. District 2 Chain Control Map/QuickMap At www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/chainup/allcntys.htm motorists can keep track of changing conditions and plan a route of travel specifically within northern Cali- fornia. The Caltrans District 2 Northstate Chain Con- trol Map includes the counties of Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Shasta, Trinity, Tehama, Butte, and Plumas and has information on road conditions, chain control restrictions, and definitions of what the restrictions mean. Also available is the Caltrans Quickmap, http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/, which features the same traveler's information but includes statewide road infor- mation. One Stop Shop for Traveler Information Another great traveler's link is oss.weathershare.org the One Stop Shop for Traveler Information (OSS). This website, developed by the Western Transportation Institute in cooperation with Caltrans District 2, con- tains road and weather information for California, Ore- gon, Washington, and Nevada. OSS utilizes a multi- state road conditions map including a planning feature that allows the user to indicate the start and end points of their trip and uses Google routing to find an efficient route. For more information call the Public Information Office at (530) 229-0511 or (530) 225-3260.