A 34,000 acre prescribed burn operation is underway near Globe.

Adam Bromley, a ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, says fire officials have contingency resources in place and are working with the National Weather Service to ensure the burn is executed during weather least likely to cause it to spread unpredictably.

“The idea is to use lower intensity fire to remove that material from the landscape and reduce the future risk of some sort of catastrophic wildfire that would really have the potential of not only impact the critical infrastructure pieces of it but also the natural features of the area," he said.

The prescribed burn will continue through Thursday.