This Land, Your Land

The state Division of Parks and Recreation will conduct a prescribed burn in the Kings Pinnacle area of Crowders Mountain State Park on a day to be chosen between January 4 and 20, a news release says.

Once weather conditions at the Gaston County park permit the burn, it will begin in the late morning and will end by late afternoon. Follow-up operations could last for several days or weeks. All areas on or around the Kings Pinnacle will be closed to the public until considered safe, including the Sparrow Springs Access Area and visitor center, the Pinnacle, Turnback, Fern and Lake trails, the portions of the Crowders Trail west of Sparrow Springs Road and the portions of the Ridgeline Trail north of Pinnacle Road.

Prescribed burns are a resource management tool, the parks system says. Some plant communities and animal species rely on periodic fire for their existence. The burn will also reduce the amount of potential wildfire fuel in an area on Kings Pinnacle with high potential for lightning strikes and wildfires.