Tonto National Forest firefighters will begin a one-day, prescribed pile burn on the Mesa Ranger District, Feb. 26.
Firefighters will burn piles containing dead brush and limbs to reduce hazardous fuels from administrative sites and recreational areas at Pebble Beach and near Butcher Jones. One burn pile to be ignited is located between mile posts 207 and 208 on State Route 87. Motorist should expect to see smoke in the area.
Reducing these hazardous fuels from high-use recreation areas can help to limit the threat of wildfires to infrastructure and other values at risk. In addition, burning piles mitigates potential smoke impacts to the area by reducing the amount and duration of smoke in the air.
These treatments improve plant and wildlife habitat to increase biodiversity for wildlife corridors. Prescribed fires also help protect culturally significant native foods and plants, improve timber stands and recreational opportunities, and reduce the threat of invasive species on the landscape.
Prescribed fire operations are part of the USDA Forest Service’s overarching wildfire crisis strategy to reduce wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources while sustaining and restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted forests. Visit the Confronting the Wildfire Crisis webpage for information about the USDA Forest Service’s 10-year strategy to address the wildfire crisis and learn about the additional $500 million allocated by the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce the risk of wildfires to communities, critical infrastructure and natural resources from the nation’s ongoing wildfire crisis.
For additional information, contact the Mesa Ranger Station located at 5140 E. Ingram Street, Mesa, Arizona. Or phone the station at (480) 610-3300 Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. and noon and from 12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
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