Tonto National Forest firefighters with San Carlos Apache Tribe crews will begin a 3,760-acre prescribed burn near Carol Springs Mountain beginning Oct. 26 through Nov. 17.
Firefighters will treat 2,500 acres within the Carol Springs north block and 1,260 acres in the Carol Springs south block. These areas are located about 25 miles north of Globe, Arizona, on the Globe Ranger District. The operation is part of the Tonto’s Timber Camp prescribed fire plan to treat 7,313 acres in the San Carlos Apache Tribal Forest Protection Act project area.
For the safety of the firefighters and the public, officials urge motorists to use extreme caution when driving on US Route 60 as fire specialists anticipate possible smoke impacts from mile marker 272 to mile marker 288. Burning will cease each day by 3 p.m. to reduce smoke impacts to US Route 60.
A Forest Service hotshot crew from the Pacific Southwest Region (R5) along with contractors conducted mechanical thinning in the north and south blocks from Sept. 27 through Oct. 11. They removed ponderosa pine, oak and juniper in preparation for the prescribed burn.
The Timber Camp prescribed fire plan falls under the overarching cross-boundary San Carlos Apache TFPA project aimed at treating national forest system lands and adjacent tribal ancestral lands here in Arizona as part of the USDA Forest Service 10-year strategy to address the wildfire crisis. The Forest Service and San Carlos Apache Tribe have been working collaboratively to develop landscape-scale strategies in the San Carlos Apache TFPA project area to restore forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires along the boundaries of the Tonto, Apache-Sitgreaves and Coronado National Forests that are adjacent to tribal ancestral lands.
Mechanical thinning and fire operations in this area are part of the USDA Forest Service’s wildfire crisis strategy to reduce wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources while sustaining and restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted forests.
The goals of these treatments include improving plant and wildlife habitat to increase biodiversity for wildlife corridors, clean water, and flood control. 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.
For additional information, contact the Globe Ranger Station located at 7680 S Six Shooter Canyon Rd., Globe, Arizona, 88501. Or, phone the station at (928) 425-7189 Monday - Friday between 7:45 - 11:45 a.m. and 12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
For the latest news and information about the Tonto National Forest, follow along on Facebook @TontoNationalForest or Twitter @TontoForest.