December 15, 2016; —The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests’ Alpine Ranger District will be burning slash piles on December 15. The legal description is T3N, R29E, Section 10.  Scattered piles will be burned across roughly 50 acres of forest land. Ignition is planned for one day only and smoke impact is anticipated along Forest Road 8312. In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to use caution when traveling in the vicinity of the pile burn as smoke may reduce visibility 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. Crews will be on scene from ignition until there is no longer a threat of escape from the project boundaries. Prescribed fire operations are subject to cancelation due to unfavorable weather conditions.

For questions or concerns please contact the Alpine Ranger District at (928) 339-5000. Also, check out our website at: www.fs.usda.gov/asnf or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs/ or check out Inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5062/.