Months-long prescribed burn continues in Riverside

Riverside County’s Trd Piles prescribed burn was still active on private land as of Friday, May 23, nearly four months after the project began on Jan. 25, according to a wildfire status update published by The Sacramento Bee. The burn is a prescribed fire, not an uncontrolled wildfire, and officials have described it as a managed operation intended to reduce vegetation that could feed a larger fire. The project has continued through spring in a county that has repeatedly emphasized fuel reduction ahead of peak fire season. Riverside County Fire and CAL FIRE both describe pile burning and other vegetation treatments as part of broader wildfire-prevention work. ### Why has this burn been going for months? The Jan. 25 start date reflects the beginning of a pile-burning project rather than a fast-moving fire front, according to the May 23 update on Trd Piles. The Sacramento Bee report said the prescribed fire had been burning on private land for four months. CAL FIRE says prescribed fire is the planned and controlled application of fire to land under specified conditions to reduce vegetation and lower wildfire risk. (sacbee.com) The agency says the method is used as a land-management tool and can be part of larger fuel-reduction work on lands where conditions are suitable. ### What exactly is Trd Piles? The name “Trd Piles” appears in wildfire-tracking records as a prescribed burn in Riverside County, with a discovery time of 1:53 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2026. (sacbee.com) A separate wildfire-history entry lists the incident as “TRD PILES RX,” with “RX” commonly used for prescribed fire, and identifies Riverside County as the location. Private land is central to the project. (fire.ca.gov) CAL FIRE’s Vegetation Management Program says private landowners can enter into contracts with the agency to use prescribed fire for fire-protection and resource-management goals on State Responsibility Area lands. The agency’s prescribed-fire page does not identify Trd Piles specifically under that program, but it describes the framework California uses for burns of this type. (data.desertsun.com) ### What are crews trying to reduce near Riverside communities? Riverside County Fire’s Pre-Fire Division says it plans and manages hazardous fuel treatments and vegetation management programs across the county. The department says those projects include pile burning, low-intensity burns of grasses, removal of ladder fuels and mechanical treatment of heavy fuels. CAL FIRE says those treatments are meant to remove overgrown vegetation, create breaks that can change fire behavior and help firefighters protect communities. (fire.ca.gov) On its prevention pages, the agency describes prescribed fire as one of the main tools available to manage forests and build resilience. ### How are residents supposed to know whether smoke is expected? Riverside County’s emergency management website maintains an active-events page and public alert system for incidents across the county. (rvcfire.org) The county says Alert RivCo is used to warn residents about emergencies, while the fire department also maintains a live incident feed for significant calls and public incident information. The county fire department said in a February 2025 release lifting a burn suspension that state, federal and local land-management agencies use favorable weather windows to conduct prescribed burns on private and public lands. (fire.ca.gov) That release did not mention Trd Piles, but it said prescribed burning is part of reducing fire hazards and improving forest health and resiliency. (rivcoready.org) ### Does this mean open burning is widely allowed right now? Riverside County Fire Chief’s June 15, 2025 order suspended burn permits for outdoor residential burning in the county’s State Responsibility Area because of warming temperatures, strong winds and drying vegetation. Residential burning rules are separate from a managed prescribed-fire project, and CAL FIRE’s burn-permit page says residential permits do not cover agricultural or prescribed burning. (rvcfire.org) As of May 24, 2026, Riverside County Fire’s live incidents page remained available for public updates, and residents can also use county emergency-management resources to track active events. The Trd Piles burn was still listed as active in a May 23 media update, making those official county channels the next place to watch for changes in status. (rvcfire.org) (rvcfire.org)