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Prescribed burns starting in Tonto National Forest
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If residents of central Arizona see smoke billowing from the Tonto National Forest this week, they shouldn’t be alarmed.
Tonto National Forest set for prescribed burns
The Payson Ranger District will carry out prescribed burns today through Friday, igniting 100 acres of vegetative debris per day around Payson and Pine and 200 acres near the Payson Golf Course, forest spokesman Phillip Guerrero said.
In milder months with lower risk of forest fires, Guerrero said, controlled blazes are used to create a burn line separating towns from woodland in hopes of preventing catastrophic blazes from spreading to residential areas during the summer.
“What we want to do is protect these towns from any danger,” Guerrero said. “We take these months when there’s less of an opportunity for a prescribed fire escape.”
Teams of scientists and experts will be working to analyze wind speed, temperature, relative humidity and other factors to make sure the environment is right for a safe burn, he added.
“Prescribed fires are always dependent on optimum conditions before ignition,” Guerrero said. “If any one of those factors do not line up, they’ll wait.”
Moderate amounts of smoke will be seen near Payson each day, but will dissipate by the afternoon. Around the golf course, moderate to heavy smoke will be seen daily.
But Guerrero said the smoke shouldn’t drift into town. The air flow should carry the smoke down Rye Creek or the east Verde River toward the Mazatzal Mountains.
If any unusual woodland fires are noted during the days of the prescribed burn, people are urged to call the fire emergency number at (480) 457-1555 or (866) 746-6516.
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