Smoke Near Thompson Peak is Pile Burning Operation

Smoke visible from Thompson peak throughout the last few weeks has been from a nearly completed pile burning operation. A contractor for the Lassen Fire Safe Council has completed more than 400 acres as part of its Thompson Peak Initiative. High Sierra Fire Inc. of Janesville has had crews igniting piles of debris that were a result of fire crews building the Janesville Fuel Break. The Thompson Peak Initiative is part of the council’s program to identify and thin forests with high hazardous fuel loads. The operation was formed in June 2019 to plan and execute a comprehensive fuel treatment project to protect Janesville, Milford and neighboring Plumas National Forest. When snow begins to melt High Sierra Fire will be able to complete the operation, expected to be in the next two weeks. You can expect to see the most smoke impacts starting in the early morning.