Coconino National Forest firefighters are taking advantage of favorable weather conditions this week for prescribed burn operations.
The broadcast prescribed burns will target up to 1,800 acres on the Red Rock Ranger District and an additional 300 acres of pile burns on the eastern side of the Mogollon Rim Ranger District. The increased wind speed is a benefit for these planned burns, which are a part of the five-year plan to reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health on the Coconino National Forest.
On the Red Rock Ranger District, the Apache Maid Range Project began Tuesday, April 9, and will continue through Friday, April 12. The burn is two miles southwest of Stoneman Lake. Fire is being reintroduced into the grassland vegetation to invigorate wildlife browsing. The burn will be approximately 1,800 acres. There will be good smoke and ventilation will be to the northeast. Cooling temperatures in the evenings may cause smoke to settle in the Stoneman Lake area, Rarick Canyon and Beaver Creek. Motorists on Forest Road 213 or Stoneman Lake Road will see smoke and encounter fire vehicles along the roadway.
In the Mogollon Rim Ranger District, the Bar T Bar Piles project will be conducted Wednesday and Thursday, April 10 and 11. This burn is 11 miles southeast of Mormon Lake, in the Long Lake area, and consists of up to 300 acres of piles. Smoke is expected to travel northeast and should not impact any communities, draining into lower-lying areas overnight.
Prescribed burns are always dependent upon weather and wind conditions, as well as approval from Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, ADEQ. The public can view approved prescribed burns on ADEQ’s website at smoke.azdeq.gov. Coconino National Forest burns begin with the designator “COF.”
Notifications of upcoming prescribed burns are provided regularly by news releases throughout the season and also by at the following online resources of the Coconino National Forest: Inciweb page at inciweb.nwcg.gov, Twitter account at twitter.com/CoconinoNF, public website at coconinonationalforest.us or Facebook page facebook.com/coconinonf.
