Results of "light Burning" Hoar Uevada City 



by 

 11. B. Pratt 



It is a coiaaon prcctice for ranchers living in 

 the vicinity of I'ovada City to bum ovor thoir wood lands 

 in the spring, penerclly in eo.rly April. They contcr.C 

 that whe burning does not damage the tiabor to any extort 

 e.nd affjrc.s protection a^cinot fires in dry sceeon. Tho 

 lend burned over is stoo'.cocl '..*ith second trovrth yollow pine 

 of vory rapid growth, TTlth hore and thoro a lar^e tree of 

 the original virgin stand. 



On the afternoon of April 4, 1211, a rcncher 

 living about; two railoc from I'ovad: City or tho ?.oc:: Croclc 

 rocd, T7C3 burning brush alon7 the creel: in front of hio 

 houee. There was a bris"; wind blovrin-j end the firo oprocd 

 en'" ron in tho dry noodles of the vrooded slo^o bordori: 



croel:. Accord in to the rcnchor'B statomont, it './ould 

 hcvo boon a very easy matter to put out the firo, but as 

 Ion- c.j it TTG started, ho thought he mi -ht F.S noil lot it 

 run and burn off the litter en<\ underbrush. V/ith tho 

 cssiutc.nce of the men helping him burn brush he sprocd tho 

 firo alonT the lower od^e of the elope. Tho v?ind ccrrlort 

 it ct a rcpid rate through the ground cover anc 1 lottor which 

 WES dryor than usual at this timo of the yor.r on account of 

 tho unusul xmrm weather of the preceding two reo::c. 



r:ie fire burned up tho elope to tho top, \?here it 

 bur^oc fiercely in manzanito brush am a thick olump of 

 yollov; pino. 



Since thore vras some wood cut a short distance be- 

 yond, t'.ic rancher end his man stored tho fire at nirrht-fall 

 -.vhoa it had diec dom cor.sidercbly, by scraping away the 

 noodles from a narrow treil alonr; tho uppor part of tho elope. 

 He steto<? thct it probably would have gone out of its own 

 cccor^ . 



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