On October 5th, the National Forest Service planned a controlled burn at Sagehen Summit in order to reduce the chance of an uncontrolled fire in the Tahoe-Truckee area. The burn has caused a small amount of smoke to drift into Reno and the surrounding areas. The smoke plume is also visible in the northwest corner of Reno towards Peavine.

Controlled burns are done by the forest service in order to keep an area of forest from catching on fire, as that area has already been burnt. The Forest service also collects any loose debris and low hanging branches that are a natural fire starter. Unlike last year we have seen little to no fires near Reno and the surrounding areas, with the only smoke being that of the controlled burns. The smoke did cause slight concern in some Reno residents, who thought that it was from a large fire.

“Controlled forest burns are good for the forest because it destroys dead trees, also some pine cones spread seeds as a result of the fire” Said Aibhilin Pezanoski, a student from Bishop Manogue. Trees that are serotinous spread their seeds as a result of fire, an example of this would be the Giant Sequoia tree that grows in northern and eastern California. The result of these burns should help prevent future fires in the Truckee-Tahoe area, keeping California residents safe, and Nevada smoke free.