UPDATE
Fire crews will continue with ignitions on the Mud Springs prescribed fire on Thursday and smoke is expected to impact Vernon and adjacent communities. After the final ignitions are conducted, the smoke should lessen substantially over the next couple of days.
Fire managers are doing everything they can to minimize smoke impacts, including burning smaller portions of the project area each day, and ending ignitions early in the afternoon to allow fire intensity to diminish. They advise affected communities to remain aware of smoke advisories and encourage monitoring of air quality information at https://www.airnow.gov/. Drivers are cautioned to be aware that heavy smoke may impact visibility along Highway 60 and 260, especially in the overnight hours.
The 1,829-acre prescribed fire is 3 miles south of Vernon and within Forest Road 224/Apache County Road 3140, Forest Road 5B, Forest Road 5, Forest Road 3D, Forest Road 44, and Forest Road 3. Firefighters are working to slowly bring fire downslope from the top of Wolf Mountain to lessen the intensity and minimize the chance of fire running uphill and threatening vital stands of overstory trees.
Prescribed fires are an effective tool for restoring fire-dependent ecosystems and reducing the risk of high-severity wildfires. 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 such as these planned on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests align with the Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy, which aims to increase the use of fire on the landscape and other treatments to improve forest health.
Visit the A-S National Forests website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs.