SOUTHWESTERN-NEWS-RELEASE: Coconino National Forest Information

["Magee, Brienne U -FS" <bmagee@xxxxxxxxx>]

NEWS RELEASE                    

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

U.S. Forest Service

Coconino National Forest

www.coconinonationalforest.us                                     

www.twitter.com/CoconinoNF

www.flickr.com/photos/coconinonationalforest

 

For Immediate Release

January 7, 2015

           

Media Contact: 

Brienne Magee - 928-310-6035

 

Pile burning update

 

Flagstaff, Ariz. – Crews completed ignitions on the Hart Prairie piles. Smoke will continue to be visible for the next couple days as the piles smolder.

 

For the rest of the week, as conditions allow:

 

• Continue efforts in the MOUNTAINAIRE PROJECT south of Flagstaff east of Lake Mary. Smoke is expected to disperse to the west toward Pumphouse Wash and Kelly Canyon. It will be visible from Flagstaff and may be noticeable in Kachina Village, Mountainaire and along I-17.

 

• MINT and MORMON LAKE BASIN PROJECTS located just south of Mormon Lake and west of Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3). Smoke is expected to disperse to the southeast. Light smoke may be noticeable  around Lake Mary Road, Mormon Lake Village and Fulton Canyon.

 

• EASTSIDE – HAROLD RANCH located south of Little America Hotel, west of Harold Ranch Road. This project is tentatively planned for Friday, pending favorable conditions. Smoke will be visible south of Flagstaff and would drift to the northwest. Piles are small and should be mostly consumed by the end of the day, producing little residual smoke

 

• Fire managers may also burn a few acres of piles near Double Cabin Park off Stoneman Lake Road. Light smoke will be visible in the immediate area.

 

 

            Prescribed fires are essential tools for restoring the forests in our fire-adapted ecosystem, and smoke is an unavoidable byproduct of these vital efforts. Fire managers strive to minimize smoke impacts to the community as much as possible. They try to burn when winds and other atmospheric conditions will push the majority of smoke away from homes; utilize slash in other ways as much as possible such as filler layer at the landfill; and they work closely with ADEQ, partners in the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council, as well as neighboring forests to monitor air quality.

 

All prescribed fires are dependent on the availability of crew members and equipment, weather and ventilation conditions, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov)

 

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