Flagstaff, AZ (November 29, 2011) – No prescribed fire activity occurred in the Flagstaff area today; Crews on the Mogollon Rim district conducted more pile burns south of Blue Ridge and Hwy 87. Mogollon Rim District fire managers are planning to continue those efforts tomorrow, Wednesday November 30.
In addition, fire managers in Flagstaff are planning to conduct a prescribed burn north of the San Francisco Peaks tomorrow.
Pete Project: 300 acres located north of Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks. Crews will be burning along boundaries, reinforcing them in preparation for large prescribed burns in the future. This effort is referred to as “black-lining.” Ignition should be complete by 3:00 p.m. Smoke will be visible from Flagstaff and will disperse to the north and northeast. Some residual smoke will likely be noticeable around Highway 89 overnight.
Miscellaneous Piles (Mogollon Rim Ranger District): 20 acres of slash piles located approximately 7 miles south of the Blue Ridge Ranger station. Smoke will disperse to the south.
Prescribed fire activity is dependent on personnel availability, weather – including winds and ventilation, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (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 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.fed.us/r3/coconino
- Click on the Prescribed Fire icon to the right of the page
- Sign-up for regular email notifications of planned burns:
- 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
