Prescribed Fire Activity Planned on the Alpine Ranger District
Fire managers plan to conduct prescribed fire operations on the Alpine Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests beginning November 1 through November 30, 2024, as weather and vegetation conditions allow for successful operations.
The Loco Knoll burn unit is 6,695 acres and is approximately 12 miles southeast of Springerville, 11 miles northeast of Alpine, and on the north side of Escudilla mountain. The project area boundaries are east of the no named two track road next to White Mountain Acres subdivision, south of Forest Service Road (FSR) 275B and constructed control lines west of FSR 851A and north of FSR 275 and FSR 851.
The objective of this prescribed fire project is to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations, minimize the risk of high-severity wildfires, and return the landscape to a more fire-resistant condition, aligning with the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy aims to reduce wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources while sustaining and restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted forests.
Smoke may be visible from Highway 191 and drift towards Springerville and Nutrioso. We recognize that smoke can impact residents, visitors, and our fire personnel. We will continue to coordinate closely with our partners and communities to minimize smoke impacts as much as possible. The department’s Air Quality Division: Smoke Management webpage provides details about its air quality program. When smoke impacts are present, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality recommends that smoke sensitive individuals should reduce physical activity and stay indoors with windows and doors closed. For those who are unable to avoid smoke exposure, use of a particulate-filtering respirator mask can help. Real-time mapping of smoke and other air quality impacts is available at fire.airnow.gov.
Visit the A-S National Forests website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/asnf and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs.
