Prescott, AZ - Fire Managers on the Prescott National Forest plan to take advantage of the moisture received over the last few weeks and burn debris piles near Camp Wood and Connell Mountain located northwest of Prescott on the Chino Valley Ranger District.  Ignitions are planned to start on Saturday, August 19, 2023, and will continue as conditions remain favorable.  Smoke impacts are expected to be light in the vicinity of Yolo Ranch area, Camp Wood Road (County Road 68) and Forest Service Road 9.  As nighttime temperatures cool smoke can linger in drainages and valleys.  Pile burning helps to reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland urban interface and increases ecosystem and community resilience.

In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to obey all traffic signs and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.

The purpose of this project is to reduce hazardous fuels following thinning and fuelwood removal. Reducing hazardous fuels will help reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire to the public, adjacent private property, and communities. Burning of debris left over from brush crush and thinning projects requires moisture in the surrounding vegetation and typically produces much lighter smoke than broadcast burning.

All prescribed fire activity is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, weather, fuels, conditions that minimize smoke impacts as much as possible, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov).