The hazy skies and smoke in your eyes near Lake Sonoma may be due to controlled burn

People seeing smoke around Lake Sonoma this week should hold off on dialing 911.

Cal Fire, the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ San Francisco District and students from Santa Rosa Junior College will conduct a controlled burn training at Lake Sonoma from Wednesday through Friday.

The first burn will target approximately 80 acres of grass in small areas, generating periods of intermittent smoke.

The smoke will increase Thursday as firefighters burn the top and bottom parts of the lake’s dam, which will produce the most continuous smoke.

Cal Fire officials said there should be no smoke pooling in low elevations during the nighttime hours.

The biggest burn will start as early as 8 a.m. Friday and target 228 acres between Rockpile Road and Lake Sonoma. Cal Fire will have 10 engines on scene with one hand crew and one bulldozer, with approximately 60 personnel working at the fire.

The SRJC class will also use the burn for training, but the main objective is restoring wildland fire as a natural ecological process to manage land.

Since both grass and forest land will be burned Friday, there’s the potential for smoldering into the night. Fire officials expect smoke to create a layer over the lake overnight unless there is nighttime wind to disperse the smoke.

The burns are planned and coordinated with the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District to minimize smoke impacts on surrounding communities.

All burning depends on weather and air quality conditions being favorable for smoke dispersal. If conditions aren’t conducive for burning, the burns will be rescheduled.