Seeing smoke off Highway 1 in Morro Bay? This is why

Drivers traveling along Highway 1 in Morro Bay may spot smoke this week.

Crews are slated to burn about 30 brush piles in the area on Tuesday through Thursday Feb. 10, to reduce fire risk, according to a news release from California State Parks’ San Luis Obispo Coast District.

Smoke from the burns may be visible from 7 a.m. to about 5 p.m. each day, State Parks said.

The burning will happen in open space south of Quintana Road along the 1-mile Fleming Loop Trail in Morro Bay State Park, according to the release.

The project aims to reduce fuel in a Monterey pine forest area with dead and dying trees affected by pitch canker fungus, State Parks said.

State Parks will do the work in cooperation with the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District and Morro Bay Fire Department, the release said. Weather conditions could change the schedule.

For details, call State Parks district Superintendent Dan Falat at 805-927-2065.

This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 11:36 AM.

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

805-781-7904 (voicemails only)

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.