Visitors to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim may see smoke for the next couple days as the park carries out prescribed burns.

Like other Arizona woodlands, the park has accumulated a lot of brush after about a century of fire suppression.

Across the state, foresters are trying to remove fuel with small burns as weather and moisture allow.

“Prescribed fire plays a really important role here on the landscape, especially in Grand Canyon National Park. Our forests are very fire dependent, and include ponderosa pine trees, pinyon and juniper, which are all fire adapted ecosystems,” said Joelle Baird, a spokeswoman for Grand Canyon National Park. She said that fire managers assess wind, humidity and other factors when planning the burns.

“The fall is actually some of the best time to do prescribed burns," Baird said. "The weather is a little bit more predictable, than say, the Spring, which is another, you know, probably the second most popular time to conduct prescribed burns.”

Smoke may be visible along Desert View Drive and in the town of Tusayan.