UPDATE
Fire crews completed ignitions on the Mud Springs prescribed fire on Nov. 8, 2023. Residual smoke is expected to diminish over the next few days and air quality impacts to Vernon and adjacent communities should continue to improve. More information on air quality is available at https://www.airnow.gov/.
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.
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.