Above: Marin County Fire Department in coordination with Marin Water conduct a prescribed burn near Bon Tempe Lake earlier this year. Prescribed burns are only performed under safe conditions and require lots of planning and personnel. Photo: Marin Water

Fall can bring the right conditions for prescribed fire in our region. One Tam partners together with fire agencies are planning prescribed burns at several key sites in the Mt. Tamalpais area this season. It's one of the most important tools called for in our long-term strategy to improve the health and wildfire resilience of Marin’s forests. Prescribed fire can have many benefits such as increasing biodiversity, reducing forest diseases and pests, and decreasing the severity of an eventual wildfire.

Prescribed burns take a lot of planning and coordination, and are performed only under safe operational, environmental, and air quality conditions. This year, One Tam partners took advantage of unusual weather windows in the spring and summer to advance forest health goals. For example, Marin County Fire, in coordination with Marin Water conducted prescribed burns on a total of 105 acres near Bon Tempe Lake so far this year with plans in the works for potential additional prescribed burns in this area next month. We’re excited to bring our One Tam members to tour the Bon Tempe area later this fall, and then again in the spring, so that we can see how the forest responds over time. Also coming up this October, Marin County Fire in coordination with Marin County Parks has identified areas for conducting prescribed burns in San Geronimo Valley, including in Gary Giacomini and White Hill Preserves.

Anyone can learn more about this work by taking a self-guided forest tour. You can also receive notifications about prescribed burns in Marin County by signing up for AlertMarin and joining the “Prescribed Burns” notification group (check the “Prescribed Burns” box in your profile).