Flagstaff, AZ (November 2, 3011) – For Thursday, November 3, Coconino National Forest fire managers on the Mogollon Rim District plan to continue prescribed fire efforts on the Victorine Project near Blue Ridge. In addition, fire managers on the Flagstaff District are planning to burn on either the Mountainaire Project, or the Fort Valley Project.
Smoke from either project will be very noticeable during ignition. Winds in Thursday’s forecast will help keep smoke from settling in the community, and precipitation predicted for Friday and Saturday will minimize residual smoke over the weekend.
Mountainaire Project: 850 acres located south of Pulliam Airport, east of Mountainaire, off Forest Roads 3E and 707. Smoke will disperse to the northeast with the forecast winds and will likely be noticeable in Lake Mary Meadows and possibly the Continental area. Ventilation is forecast to be ideal through tomorrow and tomorrow night; winds will help keep smoke from settling in the community. If winds become light, overnight smoke may impact Kachina Village and Mountainaire. The precipitation in the forecast for Friday and Saturday will further reduce potential for residual smoke over the weekend.
OR
Fort Valley Project: 267 acres located northeast of Highway 180, off Snowbowl Road. Smoke will disperse to the northeast, over and through the San Francisco Peaks. Ventilation is forecast to be ideal through tomorrow and tomorrow night; winds will help keep smoke from settling in the community. If winds become light, residual smoke will pool into Fort Valley and flow down Rio de Flag into Cheshire and Flagstaff. The precipitation in the forecast for Friday and Saturday will further reduce potential for residual smoke over the weekend.
Victorine Project: 500 acres of broadcast burning southeast of the community of Blue Ridge, approximately 10 miles north of Knoll Lake. Smoke will disperse to the north and may be noticeable on Hwy 87 and in the Blue Ridge community.
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