Cal Fire, in cooperation with California State Parks, will be conducting a prescribed burn of brush and slash piles in the Mt. San Jacinto State Park off Highway 243. 

The project was to begin Tuesday, Dec. 13, and continue throughout the week, weather permitting. The final burn date will be determined by permissive burn day availability and weather. 

Residents in the Idyllwild and Pine Cove area or anyone traveling on Highway 243 may see smoke from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the days of the burn. In the unlikely event you smell smoke, Riverside County officials urge you to take precautions to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. 

This burn is being conducted as part of the Cal Fire Vegetation Management Program, and is intended to reduce hazardous vegetation and wildland fuels in an area considered to be at high risk for large and damaging wildfires. Prescribed burns are done to help reduce the wildfire risk and promote biodiversity through the development of young trees, shrubs and grasses in a fire-dependent ecosystem. 

The prescribed burn was planned and coordinated with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board in order to minimize the smoke impacts on surrounding communities. The burn is dependent on weather and air-quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions are not as desired, the burn will be rescheduled. 

For more information and questions, call Fire Captain Ron Earls at the Garner Valley Station, 951-659-5353, or Fire Captain Michael Sebastian at the Mountain Resource Center, 951-659-3329.