2025 Planned Prescribed Fires on National Forests
Gladstone, Ironwood, MI, April 8, 2025— The USDA Forest Service Upper Peninsula Fire and Aviation Management Unit is preparing for prescribed fire operations on the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests. This includes 7,042 acres on the East Zone and 3,248 acres on the West Zone of the Hiawatha National Forest, and 587 acres on the Ottawa National Forest.
These prescribed fires reduce risk to the public by removing hazardous vegetation to mitigate wildfires and prevent loss of property. They also help to re-establish fire’s positive role in local ecosystems, increase native plant regeneration, and improve wildlife habitat and forest health.
During active burning, smoke and flames may be visible from roads and in areas downwind of the burn site. Go to AirNow for information about air quality or contact your nearest Ranger District to be notified of prescribed fires in your vicinity the day of the burn.
Visit InciWeb for updated information or find contact information for your local Ranger District office at the websites listed above. An online map of this plan is also available online.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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