SAN BERNARDINO, California—In order to reduce potential for wildfires along a busy stretch of Interstate 15, a multi-agency team of firefighters has been working this week with Caltrans to clear 30 feet of grass and brush lining the northbound side of the highway from Kenwood Drive to Cleghorn Road. All agencies are asking the public to slow down and watch out for the personnel working on the right shoulder.

Now in its third year of maintenance, the Cajon Pass Ignition Reduction Project is being implemented by the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans, CAL FIRE and San Bernardino County Fire. The California Highway Patrol will also be monitoring the area. By removing the available fuel that typically would catch fire from vehicle accidents or overheated freight trucks, fire managers have seen noticeably lower number of fires over the last two years.

"In recent years, we have had high frequencies of fire starts along this particular northbound stretch of highway," said Mike Page, a fuels and prevention battalion chief for the San Bernardino National Forest. "However last year in 2019 there was a noticeable reduction."

By reducing the number of fires along the bustling Cajon Pass, this will reduce the need for Caltrans to conduct lane closures which slows down traffic even more.

There are no lane closures in place for the duration of the project this week, however there will be a shoulder closure in effect during the morning and early afternoon hours each day from up until Friday. Please slow down for the cone zone.