Presscott, AZ, - Fire Managers on the Bradshaw Ranger District plan to continue burning slash piles in the Prescott Basin near Spence Basin and Copper Basin. Ignitions are planned to start on Friday March 31, 2023, and continue through Sunday April 30, 2023, as conditions allow. Smoke impacts are expected to be light however as nighttime temperatures cool smoke may linger in drainages and valleys in the areas of Prescott, Iron Springs, Copper Basin, and Thumb Butte. 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 the prescribed burn 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 activities. 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, and conditions that minimize smoke impacts as much as possible, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov).

Messages will be posted on social media when prescribed fires are ignited on the Prescott National Forest:

    - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PrescottNF/

    - Twitter https://twitter.com/PrescottNF

For fire information please call (928) 925-1111; or stay up to date on Prescott National Forest news by checking the Prescott NF website and following us on Facebook and Twitter.