MENDOCINO CO., 11/3/26 – Cal Fire’s Mendocino Unit will begin a planned prescribed burn on Tuesday south of Covelo.
The burn will treat about 300 acres of chaparral and understory vegetation within oak woodlands and mixed conifer habitats, according to a press release from Cal Fire. The project is in the northeastern part of Mendocino County, east of Highway 101 and south of Covelo.
The goal is to create a mosaic of variously burned vegetation and islands of unburned habitat. A U.S. Forest Service study in the Sierra Nevada found that bird, plant and bat diversity increased where fire varied in severity and patch size across the landscape.
Burning is scheduled to continue as favorable weather conditions allow through Thursday, Nov. 5. Crews plan to start at about 8 a.m. and finish about 3 p.m. each day.
According to Cal Fire, the project adds to work underway across the state toward the fuels reduction goals set by the California Fire Plan and California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
Progress on fuels reduction projects, both locally and statewide, can be tracked on the CAL FIRE fuels reduction dashboard.