Prescribed burns planned at state parks across San Luis Obispo
Smoke may be visible from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on burn days
– California State Parks, with assistance from Cal Fire and other partner agencies, will conduct a series of prescribed burns in several state park units in San Luis Obispo County starting in late October. The burns may occur in Hearst San Simeon, Estero Bluffs, Morro Bay, and Montaña de Oro state parks and may continue through June 2026.
All burning will depend on available fire resources, weather, and air quality conditions. If weather or vegetation conditions are not suitable for burning and smoke dispersal, the burns will be rescheduled.
Some park roads, facilities, and trails near burn areas may be closed. For the latest information on park closures, visitors are encouraged to check each park’s webpage. Although prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than wildfires, travelers near burn areas may see smoke from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day of the burns.
If smoke is detected, the public is advised to take precautions and limit outdoor activities to reduce potential health effects, especially for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or heart conditions. Drivers are urged to use caution near prescribed burn sites due to the presence of fire personnel and equipment.
The burns are part of California State Parks’ prescribed fire program, which supports vegetation management, hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and other ecological benefits. Treatments will include grassland and coastal scrub burns, as well as broadcast and pile burns in forested and urban/wildland interface areas to address diseased, dead, and downed trees. These efforts aim to enhance ecosystem health by removing diseased materials, restoring nutrients to the soil, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
California State Parks is coordinating the prescribed burns with the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District to minimize smoke impacts on nearby communities.
