Shasta-Trinity National Forest

News Release

US Forest Service

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Lakehead mastication project has begun

LAKEHEAD, Calif. (December 31, 2008) - The Shasta Lake Management Unit on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest has begun masticating understory fuels on National Forest System lands near the community of Lakehead. The project is part of the Lakehead Community Fuels Hazard Reduction Project and is a component of a multiple entry plan to treat the landscape.

The site is located east of Interstate 5 and west of the Union Pacific railway between the two primary highway exits in Lakehead. The mastication project will take approximately 30 operating days and should be completed by the end of January 2009. Additional projects will be planned for other areas around Lakehead in coming years as funding allows.

The masticated fuels create a landscape with a reduced amount of ladder fuels and standing dead vegetation, making fire suppression efforts easier. Once treated the site will provide a safer place for firefighters to work and provide better opportunities to control fires because of reduced fire behavior.

Forest visitors in the area should use extreme caution when traveling on Forest Service roads and trails. Watch for equipment and other related operations in the area.

For more information, please contact Robert Flaim at the Shasta Lake Ranger Station, (530) 275-1587.

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