Prescribed burns are planned for the Manti-La Sal National Forest

Oct 7, 2022, 7:30 PM

Prescribed burning is being planned for the Manti La Sal National Forest. The burns will be held during daylight and only when favorable conditions allow. Photo: U.S Department of Agriculture.

BY MARK JONES

Former Digital Content Producer

PRICE, Utah — Fire officials with the Manti-La Sal National Forest plan to implement their fall/winter burning program (prescribed burns) beginning this month. This will take place in several locations across the forest, including the Ferron/Price, Moab, Monticello and Sanpete ranger districts.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fire officials have planned projects that include broadcast burning in areas of Sanpete, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties during the fall. In addition, pile burning will be conducted in areas throughout the region. The burns will be performed once snow levels are sufficient.

According to the news release, officials will be performing burns through ground and aerial ignition operations. However, they will only be done when the weather and site conditions are favorable.

Fire officials with the Manti-La Sal National Forest have more than 2,000 combined acres prepared for the right burning conditions.

When to expect prescribed burns?

For the safety of all individuals, signs will be posted along the roads when a burn is taking place.

The news release states that burning is only scheduled for daylight hours. This is meant to help cut down on any visibility issues for people in the area.

According to the news release, prescribed burning is a tool used to help avoid potentially bigger problems in the future. Those problems include:

Cutting down on hazardous fuels.
Reducing the threat of a significant wildfire.
Improving the quality of wildlife habitat.

Last month, Randy Moore, the chief of Forest Service, announced he had decided to conditionally resume the prescribed burning program nationwide. The program was stopped in May for a three-month review. It was paused to ensure the program was secured in best policies and practices.

After the review, officials with the Manti-La Sal National Forest have added extra training and oversite to those who will be participating in the prescribed burns.

The first prescribed burn will be the Trail Mountain Project near Joe’s Valley Reservoir.

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