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NEWS RELEASE
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture U.S. Forest Service Coconino National Forest www.twitter.com/CoconinoNF www.flickr.com/photos/coconinonationalforest For Immediate Release October 17, 2014
Media Contact:
Brienne Magee – office: 928-527-8290, cell: 928-310-6035,
bmagee@xxxxxxxxx Today’s prescribed burn cancelled, fire managers make tentative plans for next week Flagstaff,
Ariz. – Smoke from the Eastside project yesterday settled in low-laying
areas along the northern portions of Flagstaff. Some stumps and logs are continuing to smolder today; residents and visitors may notice residual smoke overnight and in the early mornings for the next couple days, though it should be significantly lighter and
continue to diminish. Today’s weather conditions are not suitable for burning – high humidity levels would have inhibited ignitions and poor ventilation would not have allowed smoke
to disperse properly – so fire managers cancelled today’s prescribed burn on the Lake Mary Project. If conditions are favorable next week, crews are tentatively planning prescribed fires on the following projects.
Monday Oct 20:
For the remainder of the week (updates to these plans will be sent regularly throughout the week):
All prescribed fire activity is dependent on personnel availability, fuel conditions, weather – including ventilation conditions – and approval from the Arizona Department
of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Prescribed fires are essential to the accelerated restoration of watersheds, grasslands, and forests in our fire-adapted ecosystem.
Frequent low-severity fire has a natural and necessary role that cannot be replaced
by any mechanical effort. It reduces accumulated vegetation, enhances wildlife habitat, and recycles valuable nutrients into the soil. The result is a healthier forest with reduced risk of severe fire behavior and safer conditions for the community and firefighters.
Fire managers strive to minimize smoke impacts to the community as much as possible. They burn when winds and other atmospheric conditions will push the majority of smoke away
from homes; they’ll burn larger sections at a time to ultimately limit the number of days smoke is in the air; and they work closely with ADEQ, partners in the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council, as well as neighboring forests to monitor air quality.
Additional prescribed fire information:
Inciweb:
inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4125
Prescribed Fire Hotline: 928-226-4607 Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CoconinoNF Coconino website “News and Events”:
www.coconinonationalforest.us
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