If you happen to be in Truckee, don't be alarmed by the smoky sky.
The U.S. Forest Service started a 1000-acre prescribed burn on Thursday north of Truckee as part of the Sagehen Underburn project.
This is all managed out of the Sagehen Ranger Station off Highway 89 north of Truckee with the goal of reducing fuels and promoting forest health.
"The Sierra Nevada forest really evolved with fire and so what we're trying to do is reintroduce low intensity small fires where we've already done restoration activities to really replicate those natural processes," explained Truckee District Ranger Tahoe National Forest Jonathan Cook-Fisher
Over the next 10 days, the Forest Service plans to burn 100 acres a day. If weather conditions permit, the Forest Service's goal is to burn 1000 acres.
The team in charge consists of 40 personnel, including hot shots, engines, and prescribed burn specialists. They're a highly experienced group who have battled wildfires in Canada and Australia as well as in the US.
"To use fire to reduce the fuel loading on the ground so that way when we do have a wildfire the fire activity is minimized or mitigated so that way we can keep fires small and protect communities," explained Fire Management Specialist for East Zone of Tahoe National Forest Dan Patterson.
They are also preventing burned sediment from draining into the Truckee River Watershed, which is crucial for maintaining water quality and protecting the local ecosystem.
"This is particularly helpful for Reno because the middle Truckee river is the primary drinking water source for Reno in northern Nevada and so these hillsides feed water into the Prosser, Boca, and stampede reservoirs all of those distributing river down the Truckee river into Reno," explained Cook-Fisher.
Forest Rangers told us that around 10% of trees will burn during the operation. However, it is a necessary step to promote forest health and prevent wildfires in the Truckee Ranger District.
They said prescriptive burns are the most cost-effective and ecological way to manage the forest.
