Amador County - The El Dorado National Forest Service announced yesterday that it anticipates burning 135 acres of El Dorado National Forest lands located south of Omo Ranch Road and 5 miles west of Highway 88 on Scott Creek. The location is just North of Fiddletown on the Amador County border with El Dorado County. Recent burns in this area caused some alarm when unexpected wind patterns shifted huge billows of smoke into the Plymouth and River Pines area, creating a hazy fog. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, but according to Kristi Schroeder, Assistant Public Affairs Officer with the El Dorado Forest, unpredictable wind patterns can carry smoke great distances. “There’s a whole set of variables that we look at before each burn, including fuel moistures, humidity and temperatures,” she said after receiving dozens of phone calls from alarmed residents during a prescribed burn last November. The Forest Service insists that residents are in no danger from the fire. “Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem,” said Jennifer Boyd, Fuels Specialist. “Prescribed burning allows us to reintroduce it back into the forest under carefully controlled conditions after 100 years of fire suppression resulting in a healthier and safer forest,” she added. Smoke management is part of every prescribed fire burn plan, and efforts will be taken to reduce actual or potential smoke impacts on community areas. For more information on the Fuels Projects on national forest land planned for this fall and winter visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado. To be added to the smoke notification list contact Jennifer Boyd, Forest Fuels Specialist, at 530- 622-5061. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).