Prescribe Fire Scheduled for Monday November 3, 2025

Prescribed burning activities planned near Glen Ellen, November 3, 2025 

A prescribed burn along Bennett Valley Road will help reduce wildfire risk while improving the health and resilience of native oak grassland habitat 

Media Contacts: 

Gina Fabiano Director of Marketing and Media Relations Sonoma Land Trust 707-596-3761 gina@sonomalandtrust.org

CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Jason Clay & Tyree Zander, Public Information Officers 707-967-4207 LNUPIO@fire.ca.gov

SANTA ROSA, Oct 31, 2025— CAL FIRE and Sonoma Land Trust plan to conduct a prescribed burn of up to 30 acres at the Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Preserve on Monday, November 3, as part of a land management strategy that will build resilience against wildfire and benefit native habitat in the Sonoma Valley. This is a permitted burn; please avoid calling 9-1-1 to report smoke and fire in the area. Roadway signage will be posted, and one-way traffic control will be in place. 

Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Preserve 
8301 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa 
Between Keiser Ranch Road and Enterprise Road  
Burn unit: 30 acres of oak savannah with an understory of dry grass.  

**This operation is subject to change depending on conditions. **  

Ignitions may commence as early as 10 a.m., with firing operations concluding by 5 p.m. Residents traveling between Santa Rosa and Glen Ellen may see or smell smoke in the air for up to 10 hours. Travelers on Bennett Valley Road may notice smoke and experience delays due to one-way traffic control. Children, older adults, and those with respiratory conditions should consider limiting outdoor activities and using an air filter at home if local air quality is poor.  

This prescribed burn will be conducted by CAL FIRE, with support from Sonoma Land Trust. The crew will manage the burn activities during the day and will patrol the unit until all heat has been extinguished.  

This project is conducted under a Secretarial Suspension of state statutes, rules, regulations, and requirements, in accordance with Governor Newsom’s Emergency Proclamation, March 1, 2025, to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires that threaten public safety across California. 

Stay Informed: 
– Information on when and where prescribed fires are happening is also available on the WatchDuty app: https://app.watchduty.org/ 
 
The WatchDuty incident report for this burn will be posted here: https://app.watchduty.org/i/67816 
 
– Sign up for Sonoma Land Trust alerts at https://sonomalandtrust.org/prescribed-burns/ 

 -CAL FIRE: www.readyforwildfire.org/   

About Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Preserve 
The 175-acre Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Preserve is located along Bennett Valley Road and is owned and managed by Sonoma Land Trust. Permanently protected in 2023, it is home to two vernal pools, mature oak woodlands, intact grasslands, and portions of Yulupa Creek. The goal of this prescribed burn is to improve the health of the oak and grassland ecosystems while reducing natural fuels and building resilience against wildfire.  

Building wildfire resistance across the region  

These activities contribute to regional stewardship goals developed by the Sonoma Valley Wildlands Collaborative, comprised of All Hands Ecology, California State Parks, Mitsui Ranch Preserve, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Sonoma Ag + Open Space, and Sonoma Land Trust. The Collaborative collectively owns and manages 20,000 acres in the Sonoma Valley and is focused on using prescribed fires that benefit native habitat and build wildfire resilience across the region. 

About Sonoma Land Trust  
Sonoma Land Trust works in alliance with nature to conserve and restore the integrity of the land with a focus on climate resiliency. They are committed to ensuring more equitable access to the outdoors. Since 1976, Sonoma Land Trust has protected more than 63,000 acres of scenic, natural, agricultural, and open land for future generations. Sonoma Land Trust is the recipient of the 2019 Land Trust Alliance Award of Excellence and is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. For more information, please visit www.sonomalandtrust.org 

ABOUT CAL FIRE SONOMA-LAKE-NAPA UNIT 

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) serves and safeguards the people and protects the property and resources of California. The CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, or LNU for short, is one of 21 CAL FIRE administrative units, and one of the largest. Spanning north of the San Francisco Bay Area from the Pacific Ocean to the Interstate-5 corridor, the counties of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo come together to form a CAL FIRE Unit. LNU has primary responsibility for 2,063,280 acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA) – the most of any CAL FIRE Unit – and a vast range of vegetation types, populations, and political climates. We staff 21 fire stations, 31 state engines, six bulldozers, operate two conservation camps, have one fuel reduction crew, a firefighter hand crew, one helitack base, one air attack base, and many other support staff positions. 

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