Community members can expect to see smoke near Highway 101 near the Cuesta Grade in San Luis Obispo County and some related traffic delays next week during a planned cultural burn of open space area.
The cultural burn will be near Highway 101 at Miossi Open Space near the base of the Cuesta Grade on either June 8, 9 or 10. The exact date is dependent on weather conditions.
This cultural burn is an interagency operation hosted by yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe with support from CAL FIRE/ San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, the City of San Luis Obispo Fire Department, and the SLO County Air Pollution Control District. This is a collaborative vegetation management effort that is being continued after previous burns at the Johnson Ranch Open Space were successful and is now being adopted as part of the region’s broader Sustainable SLO efforts to achieve environmental sustainability and resiliency.
Smoke will be present in nearby communities on the day of the prescribed burn. The SLO County APCD will be working collaboratively with all agencies involved to ensure up-to-date air quality information is provided to the public.
Children, the elderly, and those that already have a respiratory condition are the most susceptible to the health impacts of smoke and should use caution if they smell smoke.
These cultural burns are dependent on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions are not optimal, the burns may be rescheduled.
Indigenous Tribes of California have had a cultural relationship with fire for over 10,000 years and recognize its role and responsibility to support life on the land. These cultural burns are controlled, often smaller burns, that are led by Indigenous fire practitioners for the purpose of revitalizing plants, reducing wildfire risk, enhancing habitat, and broadly maintaining Indigenous lifeways and native ecosystems. Similar to prescribed burns, cultural burns are an important tool used to minimize fire hazards and the likelihood of uncontrolled future wildfires that would have the potential to induce significant air quality impacts on the local community.