10/25/16 – The Apache-Sitgreave National Forests’ Lakeside Ranger District will be conducting a 600 acre prescribed burn within the Goodman unit of the Los Burros broadcast burn area, south of Vernon beginning October 26 and continuing thru October 28, weather dependent.
The Goodman Unit is about two miles south of Vernon, along Apache County Road 3140. The burn is surrounded by Forest Service Road 2, Apache County Road 3140 and hand or dozer lines. The legal description is: T9N, R25E Sections 3, 4, 5 and 9, T10N, R25E, Sections 33 and 34.
Ignition may last several days, with daily smoke impacts anticipated within area drainages. Smoke will be visible in the local area, from Arizona State Highway 260, and U.S. Highway 60, in Round Valley, Vernon and Show Low. 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 fire burn units as firefighters and fire-related traffic may be in the area.
Prescribed burning provides many benefits and is essential to maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. It provides habitat diversity, recycles plant nutrients into the soil and encourages new growth for a variety of plants used by wildlife and livestock. Prescribed burning of forest ground fuels also reduces the threat of large scale wildfire impacts to private lands. Objectives of this project are to maintain and protect ponderosa pine stands while providing browse for wildlife. This prescribed fire is in cooperation with the Arizona State Forestry, Vernon Fire Department, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Carlock Ranch.
This will provide protection for the adjacent private land, Carlock Ranch as well as provide protection for the community of Vernon from wildfires that start southeast of town.
Crews will be on scene from ignition until there is no longer a threat of escape from the project boundaries.
Questions or concerns contact the Lakeside Ranger District at (928)368-2100 or by calling 311 or (928)333-3412. Also, check out the website at www.fs.usda.gov/asnf or follow the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs/,