April 4, 2022
Preparations for Fire Season at Tassajara

 

Kogen and Zenko

Kogen Keith and Zenko Montgomery

In anticipation of fire season, SFZC’s Safety Officer Kogen Keith has been working with others at Tassajara to prepare burn piles of fuel to prevent its availability to natural fires. Kogen is grateful to local retired firefighter Steve Davis and the Los Padres National Forest for helping to make this burn day possible.

Finn Kelly

Finn Kelly lighting the pile with a drip torch

The pile burn area was prepped by scraping ten feet around it down to mineral soil (soil containing little humus or organic matter). A tree was cut to open the canopy for an additional ten feet of clearance over the burn. A mark 3 pump was in place, along with a hose lay* in case any stray embers flew.

From Kogen, “Hopefully, one day good fire can be reintroduced to the land here, coordinated with local cultural burning practices; these small burn piles are a start.”


*A hose lay is a preconfigured arrangement of fire hose that facilitates deployment under high-stress, high-danger situations.