Fire managers on the Verde Ranger District plan to burn 259 acres of the Workcenter RX.  Ignitions are planned to start on Tuesday, October 10 through Wednesday, October 11, 2023, pending favorable weather conditions. The burn unit is located on Mingus Mountain, east of Highway 89A, north of Forest Road 104 near Mingus Lookout Tower, Mingus Hand Gliding Site, and United Methodist Camp (T15N, R2E, Sec 2). 

This project is part of the Black Hills Vegetation Management Project where fire crews plan to treat a large surface area with broadcast burning, improving wildlife habitat and the resiliency of forest ecosystems; and provide added protection to infrastructure on Mingus Mountain.  Fire personnel will continue to monitor, patrol, and secure the fires edge for several days after ignitions are complete. Smoke production will be light and will remain visible from several locations including Cottonwood, Cherry, Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, and Jerome.

There will be no trail or road closures, but 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.  Ignitions will depend upon agency administrator approval and conditions within the ranges outlined in burn plans. Burn plans consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation and conditions for dispersal of smoke.

Prescribed fires are utilized to remove hazardous fuels and return nutrients to the soils when seasonal weather opportunities allow for the use of fire safely and effectively and to restore and improve habitat for pronghorn and other wildlife species. Reducing hazardous fuels will help reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire to the public, adjacent private property, and communities.

Prescott National Forest’s land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health and the strategy includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Using low to moderate fire behavior, we can better protect communities, while improving watersheds, wildlife habitat, and forest health.

The project also furthers the goals of the Forest Service’s national Wildfire Crisis Strategy to restore forests so they are less vulnerable to extreme wildfires that can risk lives and property, impact watersheds and wildlife habitat.

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.