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Prescribed burns planned on Coconino National Forest this week

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino National Forest plans to conduct two prescribed burn projects this week, beginning tomorrow.

For the latest information at any time of the day, details and updates about all prescribed burn projects can be found on the Coconino NF Prescribed Burn Projects Inciweb page, which is updated any time new information is available.

1. Blue Ridge Project

  • Dates: Oct. 22-24.
  • Location: Mogollon Rim Ranger District. Located approximately 9 miles northeast of Clints Well.
  • Size: Up to 2,500 acres
  • Type of Burn: Broadcast maintenance burn. Broadcast burning means firefighters will spread the fire across the landscape using drip torches, effectively ‘broadcasting’ the fire with low intensity across the landscape. Maintenance burns usually mean wildfire has recently been through the area, which tends to mean less smoke since forest fuels will not be as thick or built up over time.
  • Smoke Impacts: Smoke will be highly noticeable and may impact nearby areas such as Clint’s Well, Happy Jack, Jack’s Canyon, Little Springs Canyon and on state Route 87.
  • Why: This prescribed burn will reduce fuel loading around the communities of Blue Ridge, thus lessening the risk of catastrophic unplanned wildfire during times of critical fire weather. This project also reintroduces fire into a fire-adapted ecosystem.
  • Notes: No formal closure orders will be issued, but Arizona Trail hikers will be asked to follow a posted re-route to avoid hazardous areas.

2. UBC 1 (Upper Beaver Creek) Project

  • Dates: Oct. 23-25.
  • Location: Red Rock Ranger District. 1 mile south of Stoneman Lake; 6 miles east of I-17 from the Stoneman Lake Exit.
  • Size: Up to 2,171 acres.
  • Type of burn:  Broadcast initial entry burn. Broadcast burning means firefighters will spread the fire across the landscape using drip torches, effectively ‘broadcasting’ the fire with low intensity across the landscape. Initial entry burns mean fire has not been on the landscape any time recently, which results in a buildup of forest fuels such as pinecones, pine needles, dead and down trees, etc. This will result in thicker smoke when compared to a maintenance burn due to the density of forest fuels being burned.
  • Smoke impacts: Daytime smoke will be visible from Stoneman Lake, Village of Oak Creek, Camp Verde and the I-17 corridor from the Rim Vista pull out to AZ-169 interchange. Over night smoke can be expected in VOC, Sedona, Verde Valley and along the I-17 corridor south of Stoneman Lake. Smoke could move east toward Happy Jack and FH3, if southwest winds prevail.
  • Why: Watershed function improvement of the Beaver Creek watershed, community protection of Stoneman Lake community, range land viability, reduction of accumulation of dead and down fuels from pervious wildfires, Mexican Spotted Owl and Leopard Frog threatened and endangered species habitat protection and improvement, Elk, Deer and Antelope habitat improvement.
  • Notes: There are no closures anticipated with this project.

SMOKE IMPACTS

Fire managers take air quality concerns seriously and seek to minimize smoke impacts to the greatest extent possible. Despite the benefits of prescribed burns, we are aware that members of the community can be sensitive to the smoke produced. We coordinate closely with partners to keep communities informed about projects and potential smoke, as well as try to mitigate impacts to communities as much as possible. One tool to use to track air quality and smoke impacts is fire.airnow.gov.

A new Smoke Complaint Hotline has been established for the public at 928-226-4608 for the public to leave their name and number if they would like to speak to fire leadership regarding smoke impacts and prescribed burn concerns.