Today’s prescribed burn cancelled, fire managers make tentative plans for next week

Release Date: Oct 17, 2014

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:

• Munds Park Project (view map on Inciweb) – Approximately 350 acres one mile east of I-17 at the southeast corner of Munds Park, east of Odell Lake. Smoke would disperse to the northeast with the predicted southwest winds during the day. Overnight, residual smoke is expected to follow terrain to the southwest across I-17 and toward Sedona.

 

• Blue Ridge Urban Interface Project– 320 acres south of Hwy 87, southeast of the Mogollon Rim/Blue Ridge Ranger Station and north east of C.C. Cragin Reservoir. Smoke will disperse to the north, with residual smoke expected to be noticeable overnight and in the early morning on Hwy 87 and in the Blue Ridge communities.

 

For the remainder of the week (updates to these plans will be sent regularly throughout the week):

• A-1 Project - Tuesday Oct 21– 300 acres west of Flagstaff and north of Interstate 40. Smoke would be noticeable on I-40 and in Bellemont.

• Eastside Project – Wednesday/Thursday Oct 22/23– 350 acres east of Pine Canyon subdivision, south of I-40 and east of Lake Mary Rd. Smoke would be noticeable in the Walnut Canyon area, Continental Country Club, and on I-40 east of Butler.

• Blue Ridge Urban Interface Project – All week– Fire managers are planning to burn a total of approximately 2,000 acres this week if conditions allow.

 

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. Frequentlow-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