Residents should be aware of planned controlled burns around Lake Sonoma starting today, Wednesday, and continuing through Friday.
The Press Democrat reports fire officials, in partnership with Santa Rosa Junior College and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announced that 288 acres will be burned to reduce wildfire risk and provide training for SRJC firefighting students.
The first burn, covering 80 acres of grass, is expected to create intermittent smoke today and continuous smoke Thursday afternoon, particularly near Warm Springs Dam. On Friday, a burn in the Half-A-Canoe unit, between Rockpile Road and Lake Sonoma, is anticipated to cause a layer of smoke over the lake overnight.
Officials are working with the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District to minimize public impact from the smoke. Residents may see and smell smoke in the area over the next few days.