Springerville, AZ—October 4, 2018– The Black Mesa Ranger District on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests plans to conduct prescribed burns within the Nagel Forest Health and Rodeo/Chediski Prescribed Burn areas if weather conditions allow from October 15, 2018, through December 14, 2018.
Justin Gabler, District Fuels Asst. Fire Management Officer said, “Once ignition occurs, if the weather permits, there will be two or three days of ignitions in each of the burns and smoke will continue to be produced up to two weeks, each day after ignitions being significantly less each day”. Once ignition occurs, crews will be on scene from ignition until there is no longer a threat of escape from the project boundaries.
The Nagel Prescribed Burn will be along Forest Roads 717, 100, and 169. The burn blocks will encompass approximately 2,936 acres. Smoke may be visible along State Route 260, Heber-Overgaard and Forest Lakes areas. They are expecting light smoke impacts.
The Rodeo/Chediski Prescribed burn will be along Cottonwood Wash and Forest Roads 139, 46, and 9850E around the Ricochet Ranch area. The primary burn blocks will encompass approximately 4,742 acres. The smoke from this project may impact Clay Springs, State Route 260, Ricochet Ranch, and the Heber-Overgaard area.
Prescribed burning provides many benefits and is essential to maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. This prescribed fire is a follow up to previous mechanical treatments within parts of the units and within the old burn scar from the Rodeo/Chediski Fire in 2002. 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.
These projects are in partnership with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to provide forest restoration and health to the Rocky Mountain Elk, mule deer, antelope and other wildlife species that frequent the area.
Crews have been working throughout the summer and will continue to prep control lines and monitor the vegetation/fuels until the decision is made to move forward with the ignition operations.
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Fall promotes an ideal window of opportunity for prescribed fire operations. These optimum conditions for prescribed burning are noticeably cooler temperatures, a rise in relative humidity, higher fuel moisture, and predictable winds. All of this together achieves a low intensity burn to consume an overload of dead ground fuels in a controlled manner.
Chief Deputy Apache County Sheriff’s Office, Brannon Eagar said, “This is the time of year when Fire Management personnel have the best conditions to introduce prescribed fire on our forests. The amount of dead ground fuels is so great in some areas that wildlife or people can’t even walk through it. Prescribed fire helps to ensure better grazing for cattle, habitat for wildlife and helps to restore our watersheds. For the health of our forests we must get used to having prescribed fire and the resulting smoke in the air as our forests depend on fire to regenerate and remain healthy.”
As highly trained firefighters place fire on the ground they know what patterns to use to help get the desired effect and manipulate the fire’s behavior in achieving a low intensity burn. Over 99% of prescribed fires are successfully held within the planned perimeters.

The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are holding a community meeting on Wednesday, October 3, from 6 to 7p.m. at the Supervisor’s Office, 30 South Chiricahua Drive in Springerville.

The Forests will be discussing the upcoming implementation of the Wallow West prescribed burn block, about 10,000 acres south Springerville. This has been in the planning process since the 2011 Wallow Fire. Fire managers are hoping to begin implementation this week, and will be prepping containment lines. The current storm may effect fuel moistures, but the Forests still hope to begin implementation on areas that have remained fairly dry and whose conditions are ideal for burning.

Prescribed burning provides many benefits and is essential to protecting communities and maintaining healthy forest ecosystems. This prescribed fire is within the 2011 Wallow Fire footprint and is designed to reduce fuel loading and maintain low intensity fire within this area.

For more information on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and its district offices, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf , follow us on Twitter @A_SNFs or join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs/.