Fire Managers on the Bradshaw Ranger District plan to conduct a prescribed fire, primarily pile burning, on the Bradshaw Ranger District. These hand piles are from recent hazardous fuels reduction and thinning projects. Ignitions could begin as early as Friday, February 13th near Skyline Drive, and continue throughout the winter months as prescribed burning conditions remain favorable.
Expect smoke to be light and visible from multiple locations including Prescott, and communities in and around Iron Springs/Skyline Drive, Thumb Butte, Marapai/Spruce Mtn Rd, and surrounding areas. As nighttime temperatures cool, smoke may linger in drainages and valleys.
In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to obey all traffic signs and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area. Go to https://fire.airnow.gov/ to find more detailed information about air quality.
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.
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 and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.
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