Tonto National Forest forecasts prescribed fire to reduce wildfire risk on Globe Ranger District, adjacent tribal lands

Tonto National Forest firefighters will begin a 1,200-acre prescribed fire Oct. 28 on the Globe Ranger District near Carol Springs Mountain.

The five-day planned burn will occur 25 miles north of Globe, Arizona, within the Carol Springs south block. It is part of the Tonto’s Timber Camp prescribed fire plan that includes 7,313 acres of National Forest System lands.

Prescribed fires 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.

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 the safety of firefighters and the public, officials urge motorists to use extreme caution when driving on U.S. Route 60 as fire specialists anticipate possible smoke impacts from mile marker 270 to mile marker 285. Burning will cease each day by 3 p.m. to limit smoke impacts to U.S. Route 60.

For additional information, contact the Globe Ranger Station at (928) 402-6200 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until noon and from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The station is located at 7680 S. Six Shooter Canyon Road, Globe, Arizona, 85501.

The Timber Camp prescribed fire plan is a component of the Tonto’s Highway Tanks Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA) fuel reduction project. Highway Tanks is a cross-boundary forest restoration effort that treats National Forest System lands along the eastern boundary of the Globe Ranger District adjacent to the San Carlos Apache Reservation.

Highway Tanks supports the San Carlos Apache Tribal Forest Protection landscape, one of 21 landscapes the Forest Service identified as part of the agency’s 10-year strategy for confronting the wildfire crisis. Additionally, restoration projects on the Tonto’s Payson Ranger District support the Four Forest Restoration Initiative.

For more information about these two Arizona landscapes, visit the Tonto’s wildfire crisis strategy website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/fire/?cid=FSEPRD1179893.