Live Fire Training at CDFW Oak Grove Unit
Summary
SCH Number
2026050685
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Live Fire Training at CDFW Oak Grove Unit
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/18/2026
Document Description
CAL FIRE in cooperation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) proposes using periodic broadcast burning to support fire control training under live-fire conditions while providing fuel reduction around the adjacent community at CDFW’s Oak Grove Unit.
The proposed project is located on property owned and managed by CDFW. The 3,244-acre Oak Grove Unit is in the unincorporated community of Oak Grove in north-central San Diego County, adjacent to State Route 79, twenty-two miles east-southeast of Temecula. The Oak Grove Unit is situated between 2,800 and 3,600-feet elevations and is mostly surrounded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with private land to the south. The southwest third of the Unit is flat, grass covered terrain previously used for farming. Lands to the north and east progress from rolling, shrub covered hills to steep mountainous terrain.
The project area encompasses approximately 1,550 acres, focusing on former agricultural fields and adjacent areas within the valley bottom. Additional locations within the project area may be included where CDFW has determined that prescribed burning will assist in meeting management objectives. Project activities would primarily utilize existing roads as control lines which may require mechanical brushing or scraping depending on their conditions at the time of site preparation. Additional control line creation may utilize a combination of mechanized equipment and hand lines to create small 5 to 10 acre burn blocks to safely facilitate training activities. Bulldozers may be used to construct control lines on relatively flat, previously disturbed cultivated fields. Construction of these lines will involve minimal scraping to expose bare soil and help maintain the fire within established parameters. Typical training activities within these burn blocks could include ignition techniques, use of firing devices, hand tool use, mobile attack, and progressive hose lay operations while in a controlled environment.
Determining the location and timing of prescribed burning will be in cooperation with CDFW staff and concurrent with environmental parameters, with up to 500 acres treated per year depending on the number of training events. A site-specific burn plan will be prepared and approved by CAL FIRE San Diego Unit prior to burning. All burning will be performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of a burn permit issued by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
Contact Information
Name
Cheyenne Borello
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Job Title
Forester I
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Oak Grove
Counties
San Diego
Regions
Southern California
Total Acres
1550
Other Location Info
Sec. 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, and 22, T.9S., R.2E., SBBM
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 §15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
The project is consistent with one Categorical Exemptions as identified in the CEQA Guidelines: Class 4 pertaining to Minor Alterations to the Land. After completing an environmental analysis at the Unit level, the Department has determined this project will have no significant impacts on the environment. Field review by CAL FIRE staff confirmed that no exceptions apply which would preclude the use of a Notice of Exemption for this project. The Department has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, utilities, and service systems or to wildfire. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is retained on file at CAL FIRE SDU Headquarters in El Cajon.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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