Flagstaff, AZ (November 28, 2011) – Pending favorable conditions today, fire managers are planning to conduct prescribed broadcast burn on the Eastside Project, south of the Little America Hotel, and a prescribed pile burn on Mogollon Rim District, south of Blue Ridge and Highway 87. Both burn projects have been approved by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; crews are evaluating conditions at the burn sites prior to ignition.
Eastside Project: 50 acres of broadcast burning south of Flagstaff and the Little America Hotel, off Harold Ranch Road. Smoke will disperse to the south and southeast with today’s winds; residual smoke will settle in the immediate area overnight and will likely be noticeable in the community off Harold Ranch Road tonight and tomorrow morning.
Miscellaneous Piles (Mogollon Rim Ranger District): 20 acres of slash piles located approximately 7 miles south of the Blue Ridge Ranger station, off Forest Road 95. No smoke impacts are expected.
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
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