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NEWS RELEASE
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture U.S. Forest Service Coconino National Forest www.flickr.com/photos/coconinonationalforest For Immediate Release March 21, 2014
Contact (for Mar 24-28):
John Buehler,
Public Information Officer – jbuehler@xxxxxxxxx , 928-821-5403 Prescribed burns near Flagstaff tentatively planned for next week
Flagstaff, AZ – If conditions are favorable, fire managers on the Flagstaff Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest may conduct prescribed burns on the Mountainaire
Project and the Eastside Project. Burning would take place starting Tuesday. Updates with more specific information will be sent daily – the day before the planned burn – if fire managers plan to proceed. The public can register to receive regular email
notifications by choosing the “Southwestern Region” option at http://www.fs.fed.us/news/subscription.
Information can also be obtained via the Prescribed Fire Hotline at 928-226-4607, our website, and Twitter at
www.twitter.com/CoconinoNF.
General project locations (map below):
Mountainaire Project – Located southeast of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport,
northeast of Mountainaire, between I-17 and Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3), off Forest Road 3E. Crews are planning to burn up to 500 acres over the course of the week, if conditions allow.
Eastside Project – Located south of Little America Hotel, north of the
Heckethorn neighborhood, between Lake Mary Road and I-40. Crews are planning to burn up to 300 acres over the course of the week, if conditions allow.
Fire managers strive to minimize smoke impacts to the community by working closely with ADEQ, partners in the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council, as well as neighboring forests
to monitor air quality. In addition, fire managers try to burn when winds and other atmospheric conditions
will push the majority of smoke away from homes, and try to burn larger sections at a time to ultimately limit the number of days smoke is in the air. All prescribed fire activity is dependent on personnel availability, fuel conditions, weather and ventilation, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
(ADEQ). Fire is a natural part of this ecosystem. The forest depends on low-intensity fire to reduce accumulated vegetation, enhance wildlife habitat, and recycle valuable nutrients
into the soil. Fire reduces the likelihood of severe fire behavior, creating safer conditions for the community and firefighters.
Prescribed burns are termed such because they are conducted within a “prescription” that defines the fuel moisture levels, air temperatures, wind conditions, and relative humidity
levels that are appropriate for each project. Map below shows general locations for the Eastside and Mountainaire Prescribed Burns, tentatively planned for the week of Mar 24.
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