Prescribed Fire Planned in the Blue Hills Area November 5-6, 2025

Fire managers on the Prescott National Forest plan to conduct prescribed fire operations in the Blue Hills area on the Bradshaw Ranger District 3.7 miles south of Prescott Valley, Arizona. Ignitions are planned to start Nov. 5-6 depending on weather, fuels conditions and resource availability. The Blue Hills Prescribed Burn is located south of Old Black Canyon Highway and Stoneridge communities, east of the Lynx Lake Recreation Area and west of the community of Blue Hills. Ignitions are likely for 1-2 days with resources remaining on scene to monitor and patrol in the days following the prescribed burn.

Trails in the Blue Hills area should be avoided during prescribed fire operations for public and firefighter safety; trails include the following:

Green Gulch Trail Head
Charcoal Gulch Trail #9419
Nemo Springs Trail #9405
Red Mountain Trail #43

Smoke may be visible from Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Highway 69 & Hwy 169 and surrounding communities. As nighttime temperatures cool, smoke may linger in drainages and valleys. Go to https://fire.airnow.gov/ to find more detailed information about air quality.

All prescribed fire activity is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, weather, fuels, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov). In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to obey all traffic signs, temporary road and trail closures, and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.

Prescott National Forest’s land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health and reducing forest fuels. Prescribed fire with low to moderate fire behavior can reduce hazardous fuels and increase forest and community resilience. In the wildland-urban interface, prescribed fire reduces the risk of wildfire to communities through hazardous fuels reduction which helps create buffer zones where we have a higher probability of safely stopping future unwanted wildfires. We would like to express continued gratitude to the community for its patience and understanding as we work to treat hazardous fuels and restore resilient landscapes.

On This Day in History — 2015

Gerry Byrne, English-Welsh footballer (born 1938) English (1938-2015) 🔗

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About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.