Burning of brush piles begins in Cambria

A quick tour of todays continued work on the #CambriaPinesFuelBreak in #cambria. Crews have been able to cut and burn TONS of overgrown vegetation, invasive French Broom, and dead and dying trees. The use of fire has been an instrumental part of this project. The cost to haul or chip the tons of material this project has generated would have been astronomical! @countyofslo @cambria_firefighters #cambriafiresafe #slofiresafe #fireseason #firedepartment #sanluisobispo #slocountyfire #calfire #calfire #calfireslo #firechief #firehouse #firefighter #fuelreduction #fireprevention

A post shared by CAL FIRE SLO County Fire (@calfiresanluisobispo) on Dec 5, 2018 at 11:00am PST

CAL FIRE began burning piles of brush Tuesday morning along Cambria Pines Drive.

The piles consist of overgrown brush that firefighters cut earlier this year. CAL FIRE says there are approximately 450 piles that need to be burned.

The goal is to reduce the threat of wildfire in Cambria and eventually eradicate the invasive French Broom plant.

Crews are beginning to burn piles along Cambria Pines Drive. Smoke will be visible throughout the day. 6 engines and a water tender are on scene to support the burn. #CambriaPines2 @FireSafeSLO #cambriafiresafe pic.twitter.com/OSUHcaIbKh

— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) December 4, 2018

It’s expected to take about a week to burn all of the piles. CAL FIRE says at least five engines will be on site during all of the burn operations and firefighters will continue to patrol the area for several hours after the burning is complete.

Burning will only take place when weather conditions are just right. On Tuesday morning, the breeze was reportedly blowing the smoke in a north-easterly direction away from the town.

Pile burn location map: pic.twitter.com/CnFrHuj8FE

— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) December 4, 2018