a controlled burn was administered at the pinnacles national monument last week to learn more about the traditional native american uses of fire in central california before european contact. leaders from the amah mutsun tribe used traditional methods to start the fire on the 27-hundred acre site near hollister. a 245-thousand dollar grant from the joint fire science program of the bureau of land management funded the burn. researchers studied the effect of fire on plant fitness and biology, invasive species, wildlife habitat, groundwater and soil nutrients.
