The Black Mesa Ranger District is planning prescribed fire pile burns across 10 acres at Camp Shadow Pines, which is approximately 3.5 miles southwest of Heber. Pile burning is to reduce hazardous fuel accumulation returning the landscape to a more fire-resistant condition in line with the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. Encroaching pine and juniper were thinned to decrease tree density and canopy cover, and to prevent regrowth of new pine and juniper to restore the fuel type to grassland, its original fire regime. A ‘fire regime’ is the term given to the general pattern in which fires naturally occur
in a particular ecosystem over an extended period of time.
Winter is an optimal time to burn piled slash and woody debris because snow on the ground keeps the fire from spreading to adjacent vegetation. Recent weather has provided ideal conditions and fire managers will look for opportunities to initiate burning between March 14, 2024 through the end of the month.
The project area is located 3.5 miles southwest of Heber, Arizona. Smoke from these prescribed fire pile burns is expected to be minimal but may impact Highway 260 and the communities of Heber-Overgaard. Drivers are cautioned that visibility may be reduced, especially in the overnight hours when smoke settles near the ground.
Each prescribed fire is designed to accomplish specific objectives and is managed with firefighter and public safety as the highest priority. Fire managers use prescribed fire to improve forest health, remove hazardous fuels, increase firefighter safety, enhance wildlife habitat, and protect communities and watersheds. Landscape treatments on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests align with the Forest Services 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy, which aims to increase the use of fire on the landscape and other treatments to improve forest health.
Air quality information is available at https://www.airnow.gov/. Visit the A-S National Forests website and follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter).