Flagstaff, AZ (November 10, 2011) – For the week of November 14, fire managers on the Coconino National Forest plan to continue prescribed pile burning efforts in various locations across the forest. Burning will depend on the amount of snow received over the weekend. Pile burning requires the right balance of moisture in the fuels: enough to keep flames from spreading to surrounding vegetation, but not so much that the piles themselves are too wet to burn. No prescribed burning will occur tomorrow, Friday November 11.
For Monday, November 14
Eastside Project: 30 acres of piles in one of two locations: either south of Flagstaff and the Little America Hotel off Harold Ranch Rd, or on Elden Lookout Road north of Flagstaff, east of Fort Valley.
Smoke will disperse to the east. If the piles south of Little America are burned, smoke will be noticeable in the Forest Dale community off Harold Ranch Rd.
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 put forth 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
