Prescribed Fires To Start This Month In Northern Arizona
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management will be starting five prescribed burns this month designed to help the environment.
Fall and spring is when the department begins its prescribed burning season.
Three prescribed fires will be set in northeastern Arizona, and two in the Flagstaff area. One of the projects will involve multiple fires near Winslow over the course of two years.
Tiffany Davila, with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, explains the process of this fire. “Due to the magnitude and the size of the project it’s about a 15,000-acre project. We’ll do 500 acres through December, we’ll step back, we’ll take a look at what needs to be done and how we’ll move forward," she said.
Davila said the fires help rid forests of diseased vegetation and benefits the forests, animals, and near by communities in other ways. “These prescribed burns are used to meet management objectives. It could be to reduce the risk of wildfires in that community, to help with forest health that’s always the overall goal of these prescribed burns, to improve wildlife habitat," Davila said.
The department plans to ignite one fire Tuesday but that can change depending on the weather. It may postpone burns if weather conditions are bad.
