However, if conditions become favorable later in the week, crews on the Mogollon Rim District may try to complete the remaining 1,000 acres on the Blue Ridge Urban Interface Project or burn up to 1,500 acres on the Upper Beaver Creek Project east of Happy Jack, approximately 25 miles northeast of Camp Verde.
At this time, fire managers on the Flagstaff and Red Rock Ranger Districts are not planning any prescribed fires the week of Nov 3. Crews will monitor conditions and evaluate opportunities to resume burning.
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 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.
Crews also seek opportunities to use slash from thinning projects around the community instead of burning it –it is often used as filler at the landfill and offered as firewood to community members. However, no matter how many mechanical means we employ to restore our forests, fire is a natural and necessary part of this ecosystem, and a restoration tool that cannot be replaced by any mechanical means. Forests need the frequent, low-intensity fire to remove accumulated smaller fuels and recycle nutrients into the soils to promote healthy vegetation and wildlife habitat. A healthier forest is a safer forest for firefighters and residents when wildfires inevitably occur.