Smoke may be seen from Highway 299 during controlled burns in Whiskeytown

Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight
·3 min read
2

If you're on Highway 299 this week and next, you may see smoke plumes rising from Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

National Parks Service firefighters will take advantage of cool damp weather to burn up to 346 acres in Whiskeytown in November, according to park officials.

An announcement about the burns on social media had some people asking why a park devastated by fire needs to be thinned again so soon. In 2018, the Carr Fire burned 96% of the park

The answer is good news: Plants and trees are making a fast comeback, Whiskeytown Supervisory Interpretive Park Ranger Scott Einberger said.

Smoke rises from a controlled burn in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in October 2023. Park officials hope to conduct controlled burns on 346 acres in the park before the year is over.
Smoke rises from a controlled burn in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in October 2023. Park officials hope to conduct controlled burns on 346 acres in the park before the year is over.

Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.

Crews started one of several burns planned at Oak Bottom in late October, Einberger said.

More are scheduled this month ― if weather allows ― around John F. Kennedy Memorial Drive, South Shore Drive, Peltier Valley Road, Paige Bar Road, the Tower House Historic District and along the Shasta Divide ridge above the Visitor Center.

About controlled burns

Controlled burns — also called planned fires and prescribed burns ― scorch dry flammable vegetation. That ideally reduces the likelihood a wildfire could spread quickly if that vegetation ignites. Controlled burns also keep the forest ecology healthy, creating “diverse habitats for plants and animals,” according to the National Parks Service.

So why would firefighters want to burn parts of Whiskeytown already scorched when the super-hot Carr Fire raged through the park in July and August 2018?

The park’s incredibly resilient ecology make it necessary, Einberger said.

“The amount of shrub and grass regrowth since the Carr Fire has been absolutely stunning to me. I'm 5 feet 4 inches tall, and I regularly see plants like Toyon and Yerba Santa that have gone from burned and dead 5 years ago to growing over my head today,” he said.

Conditions at Whiskeytown

Some vegetation grew back so fast, Whiskeytown firefighters battled grass and shrub fires as early as summer 2019. They've been snuffing blazes in burn scars every summer since then, Einberger said.

Some are accidental fires ignited by guests or motorists traveling on Highway 299, he said. The highway winds through the park, west of Redding.

Fire risk will "become more of a threat" as the forest continues to grow back, he said.

Park officials hope controlled burns will somewhat stave off that threat.

“Just prior to the Carr Fire," Whiskeytown did prescribed burning in the Shasta Divide, Sheep Camp and Buck Hollow Trail areas, Einberger said. That's why those areas weren't as badly burned by the Carr Fire.

Chances are slim another “megafire" will catch in Whiskeytown over the next few decades, Einberger said.

The Carr Fire destroyed much of the park’s vegetation, making nature start over. It will take time for it to grow to full maturity again.

The Carr Fire began on July 23, 2018 near Whiskeytown Lake when a flat tire caused the rim of a trailer to scrape the road, causing sparks that ignited dry brush along the road, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The flames spread through the park, flattened most of the town of Keswick and pushed east into communities in Shasta, Shasta Lake and west Redding. By the time it was fully contained on Aug. 30, 2018, the catastrophic fire destroyed 229,651 acres in Shasta and Trinity counties. It is blamed for killing eight people and destroying 1,614 buildings, making it one of the most destructive fires in California's recorded history.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Controlled burn planned at Whiskeytown park; smoke may be seen