“We are reintroducing fire to its natural role in the environment and it is an incredibly valuable tool for helping to manage the landscape. “Fire is a natural process, just like the water cycle and the carbon and the nitrogen cycle, that is fundamental to the landscape,” said Portia Halbert, a senior environmental scientist with State Parks and the incident commander leading the roughly 40-person crew Wednesday. Visit Alert Monterey County for the latest information on evacuations. These include reverse 911 calls, text or phone messages through. The effort, which aims to collectively burn 300 acres of grassland, shrubbery and forest understory at the park within the next four to six days, is being led by California State Parks but includes crew members from Cal Fire, Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association and graduate students from San Jose State University. Monterey County There are evacuation orders for areas of River Rd. The County uses a variety of methods to notify residents when an evacuation is necessary. SANTA CRUZ - Fire crews, decked out in bright yellow suits and helmets to match, dotted the parched meadowland at Wilder Ranch State Park Wednesday, methodically igniting light brown blankets of grass with orange flame as part of the latest round of prescribed burns in Santa Cruz County.
