Flagstaff AZ (February 7, 2012) – Pending favorable conditions today, February 7, fire managers are planning to conduct two pile burning projects south of Flagstaff.
Mountainaire Project: 30 acres of piles located north of Mountainaire, just south of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, off Forest Road 867. Smoke will disperse southwest and may be briefly noticeable in Mountainaire and in the Lake Mary Road area.
Eastside Project: 20 acres of piles located south of Flagstaff and Little America Hotel, off Herold Ranch Road. Piles are smaller than those previously burned in the area, so smoke production will be lighter. Some may be noticeable in the immediate overnight; the majority of smoke will disperse to the southwest.
All prescribed fire activity is dependent on personnel availability, weather – including winds and ventilation, and approval from the ADEQ (www.azdeq.gov).
Fire managers make every effort to minimize smoke impacts to the communities while continuing to address the critical need to reduce the risk of severe wildfires around those communities. Tactics to keep smoke impacts as minimal as possible include cancelling burns when conditions aren’t favorable, finding alternative uses for the debris in slash piles, timing ignitions to allow the majority of smoke time to disperse prior to settling overnight, and burning larger sections at a time when conditions are favorable to reduce the overall number of days smoke is in the area.
In addition, the Coconino National Forest coordinates prescribed fire plans with the partners of the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council (which includes state and local fire departments), as well as neighboring forests, to reduce the impact of smoke on the communities.
The public can obtain additional prescribed fire information via the following:
- Prescribed Fire Hotline: 928-226-4607
- Coconino National Forest Website: www.fs.usda.gov/coconino
- Click on “Prescribed Fire” on the right of the page
- Sign-up for regular email notifications of planned burns: http://www.fs.fed.us/news/subscription
- Choose “Southwestern Region”
- Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CoconinoNF
- Local Ranger Stations: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928-526-0866; Red Rock Ranger District (Sedona) 928-203-2900; Mogollon Rim Ranger District (Blue Ridge) 928-477-2255