Prescribed pile burning of about 40 treated acres of slash from felled dead trees and brush will be going on May 14-21, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) has announced.

Burning occurs at various forest administrative sites. The sites for this period are the Painted Cave and Trout Club areas.

Most burning operations will begin in the morning and conclude in the afternoon. However, some burning operations may continue through the evening to allow for full consumption of flammable material, the APCD said.

The goal of the series of pile burns is to reduce the risk of wildfire. Prescribed, or planned, fires typically burn less intensely than wildfires, APCD said. Prescribed burns can help prevent the spread of wildfires and can reduce impacts to watersheds that can result in soil loss and sedimentation.

The burns will be conducted when meteorological conditions are highly favorable to direct smoke away from population centers.

The prescribed burn is planned and coordinated by Los Padres National Forest along with the APCDs of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, San Joaquin Valley APCD, and the California Air Resources Board to minimize impacts on air quality on surrounding communities.

The burn depends on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions are not as desired, the burn will be rescheduled.

To view a statewide prescribed burn map and other features, visit the Prescribed Fire Information Reporting System (PFIRS) website.