Seeing Smoke? Live Fire Training Underway In Lake Mathews Area

LAKE MATHEWS, CA — Beginning Tuesday, Riverside County Fire Department crews were eliminating around 10 acres of brush on the north end of Lake Mathews as part of a controlled burn that officials said will be visible to motorists and area residents, who were asked not to be alarmed by the smoke.

The operation was scheduled to begin shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday and continue into the early afternoon hours. The prescribed burn is slated to be repeated at the same time Wednesday and Thursday.

Fire administrators said the burn will additionally provide a training opportunity for hand crews, noting that it further "accomplishes the goal of rehabilitating the burrowing owl and Stephens' kangaroo rat habitat through eradication of invasive, non-native grasses and weed species."

A previous controlled burn happened in the same general area last month.

Officials emphasized smoke columns will be visible from the Riverside (91) Freeway, Interstates 15 and 215 and other corridors, as well as in surrounding communities, including Corona and Riverside.

Fires will only be lit when conditions are favorable, and any change in the weather, including high winds and plummeting relative humidity, would result in an immediate halt to the operation, according to the fire department.

The California Highway Patrol typically receives multiple calls when prescribed burns are underway.

Anyone with questions or concerns was advised to contact the fire department's public affairs bureau at 951-940-6985.