Prescribed burn planned for Verde District

PRESCOTT – Fire Managers on the Verde Ranger District plan to burn 436 acres of the Springs RX on Thursday, Dec. 1, pending favorable weather conditions.

If fire managers are unable to burn on Thursday, they will monitor conditions and try another day the following week. The burn is located on Mingus Mountain near the junction of Forest Service Road 132 and Forest Service Road 105; and Mingus Springs Ranch (T15N, R2E, Sec 28).

Ignitions are planned to be completed in two days. Fire personnel will continue to monitor, patrol and mop-up for several days after ignitions are complete. Smoke will be the heaviest on the day of ignition and will remain visible from several locations including Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Sedona, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey-Humboldt for several days after.

In the interest of safety, please obey all traffic signs and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of the prescribed fire burn units as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.

Prescribed fires are utilized to remove hazardous fuels and return nutrients to the soils when seasonal weather opportunities allow for the use of fire safely and effectively. Reducing hazardous fuels will help reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire to the public, adjacent private property, and communities.

Prescott National Forest’s land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health and the strategy includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Using low to moderate fire behavior, we can better protect communities, while improving watersheds, wildlife habitat, and forest health.

All prescribed fire activity is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, weather, fuels and conditions that minimize smoke impacts as much as possible, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov).

Messages will be posted on social media when managed fires are ignited on the Prescott National Forest:

• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PrescottNF/

• Twitter https://twitter.com/PrescottNF

For fire information please call (928) 925-1111; or stay up to date on Prescott National Forest news by checking the Prescott NF website and following us on Facebook and Twitter.