Alexey Perez says it’s a course he knows well, cycling with friends up State Route 160 near the town of Mountain Springs.
“It's really important to keep the environment in good shape,” he says. “Every weekend we try to reach this area because it's really nice, it's really pretty.”
And he says, it’s an area worth protecting.
This is why firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service are here too.
Conducting a prescribed, or controlled burn, near Mt. Potosi to reduce the fuel load ahead of the hot, dry summer -- helping prevent future wildfires from spreading.
“This is good for the land,” says fuels specialist Joshua Thalacker. “We're spacing the trees farther apart so more can grow and large animals will have the stuff to eat on the ground. Also, it will open up areas for flowers to grow.”