10/20/16 – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Fort Apache Agency Fire Management in coordination with the White Mountain Apache Tribe began prescribed burn operations on Monday, October 17, 2016 within several burn units on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

Fire Officials will work on squaring up the burn block within the Corduroy burn unit. This burn unit is located south of Pinetop Mountain and west of Cooley Lake. The burn block is 1,196 acres and a total of 599 acres have been treated since Monday. Broadcast burning ignitions will continue today and tomorrow to complete the treatment of the remaining 597 acres within this burn block.

Broadcast burning promotes ecological health in frequent fire forests, reduces hazardous fuels thereby protecting nearby communities, and reduces the intensity and size of future wildfires. Prescribed burn operations will temporarily stop throughout the weekend and burn operations will resume on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 if weather conditions are favorable.

Nearby residents should expect smoke in the vicinity and drivers should pay extra attention while traveling through or adjacent to burn areas. All prescribed fire activity will be carefully monitored and will comply with smoke management guidelines to reduce the impact of smoke on local residents. If conditions become unfavorable prescribed burning efforts will be ceased to mitigate smoke impacts to the communities.

If you have any questions regarding our upcoming prescribed burning efforts, you can call Candy Lupe, Public Information Officer at (928) 338-5425 or (928) 205-5662.

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
FORT APACHE AGENCY
118 West Horseshoe Avenue
Whiteriver, Arizona 85941
Protecting Human Life | Restoring Cultural Landscapes | Supporting Indian Self-Determination
Distribution 10/18/16 7:48 PM
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wildland Fire Management News Release
Contact: Candy Lupe, Public Information Officer, (928) 338-5425
Published on October 6, 2016
Prescribed Burning on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Fort Apache Agency Fire Management in coordination with the White Mountain Apache Tribe will begin prescribed burn operations Tuesday, October 11, 2016. Approximately 11,500 acres are targeted to be treated by either pile burning or broadcast burning within several burn units on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
The late fall prescribe burning conditions have low to moderate fire intensity which produces beneficial post-fire effects. These small prescribed fires will help reduce fuel accumulation from logging and thinning projects, decrease the risk of high intensity wildfire, and to protect communities. Broadcast burns involve applying fire across the forest floor. Flames make their way along the surface, consuming accumulated needles, leaves, branches, and logs while recycling nutrients back into the soil. Broadcast burns typically produce the most noticeable smoke.
Nearby residents should expect smoke in the vicinity and drivers should pay extra attention while traveling through or adjacent to burn areas particularly along highway 73 from Post Office Canyon to Hondah and State Route 260 east of Hondah. All Prescribed Fire activity will be carefully monitored and will comply with smoke management guidelines to reduce the impact of smoke on local residents. If conditions become unfavorable prescribed burning efforts will be ceased to mitigate smoke impacts to the communities.
Prescribed burning efforts will continue as long as weather conditions permit and targeted acres are completed. Location and timing of burns will be identified on a weekly basis. If you have any questions regarding our upcoming prescribed burning efforts, you can call Candy Lupe, Public Information Officer at (928) 338-5425.

10/17/16 8:24 am
U.S. Forest Service
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests
30 S Chiricahua Drive
Springerville, AZ 85938

Web: www.fs.usda.gov/asnf
Twitter: @A_SNFs

News Release

Lakeside Ranger District burning 600 acres south of Vernon
Lakeside, AZ –October 17, 2016; —The Apache-Sitgreaves 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 19, 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 impact 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 our website at: www.fs.usda.gov/asnf or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs/.