LandPaths

Smoke Alert 🛎️ West Sonoma County/Occidental

A 14-acre permitted prescribed burn is planned for June 18 at Bohemia Ecological Preserve in Occidental. As part of our ongoing commitment to apply fire on the land as a stewardship tool, LandPaths is partnering with North Bay Jobs With Justice and All Hands Ecology to conduct a 14-acre prescribed burn at Bohemia Ecological Preserve, planned on June 18, 2026. This is a permitted burn; please avoid calling 9-1-1 to report smoke and fire in the prescribed area.

There has been some confusion with the news that residential burn permits for backyard pile burns have been closed for the season. But the prescribed burn at Bohemia Ecological Preserve is a different type of permitted burn. Broadcast burns are more rigorous burns that require LE 7/8, a different kind of permit that requires specific plans, resources, and qualifications. We will be moving ahead with this fully permitted burn. Prescribed burn plans change often depending on conditions. The best way to stay informed about this planned burn and other burns is via the Watch Duty app. To receive mobile updates, including dates, details, and status changes, open the Bohemia Ecological Preserve Rx report and toggle the notifications switch to the ON position: app.watchduty.org/i/65184

On the burn day, prescribed burn activities may begin as early as 8 a.m., and surrounding communities may see or smell smoke in the air for up to 10 hours in the Occidental and Camp Meeker areas. Travelers on the Bohemian Highway may experience slowing traffic. Children, older adults, and those with respiratory conditions should consider limiting outdoor activities and using an air filter at home if local air quality is poor.

Prescribed burn plans change often depending on conditions. The best way to stay informed about this planned burn and other burns is via the Watch Duty app. To receive mobile updates, including dates, details, and status changes, open the Bohemia Ecological Preserve Rx report and toggle the notifications switch to the ON position: app.watchduty.org/i/65184

The primary goals of the prescribed burn are as follows:

• Reduce shrub cover over entirety of grassland and mitigate encroachment of shrub and conifer forest.
• Enhance and conserve threatened coastal prairie ecosystem.
• Reduce surface fuel loads in forested/woodland areas within the unit.
• Foster and maintain relationships with all cooperators and stakeholders.
• Promote and foster a safe and inclusive work and training environment.

The safety of people and property is our number one priority. LandPaths’ and partner organization’s prescribed, patch, and pile burns are carefully planned and must meet strict criteria for ecological benefit, weather parameters, smoke management, and fire safety guidelines.

The prescribed burn will be implemented over the course of a single day, directed by prescribed fire managers from All Hands Ecology’s Fire Forward® program and LandPaths’ Good Fire program with support from local agencies and community. The crews will manage the burn activities and will patrol the area into the evening and following days until deemed secure. The burn unit is almost entirely grassland, with a combination of native and invasive grass species, and some coyote brush encroachment

Help the grasslands thrive at beautiful Bohemia Ecological Preserve!

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