Press Release
With the arrival of favorable weather conditions, fire managers on the Fishlake National Forest will continue igniting prescribed burns across the Central Utah area. If conditions are favorable, the Fishlake National Forest will begin to treat up to 2,000 acres this week (April 19-24). Prescribed fire units are dispersed throughout three project areas on the following districts:
Fillmore Ranger District (Millard County)
Horse Hollow Prescribed Fire Project (#HorseHollowRx) is located two miles east of Fillmore in the mouth of Chalk Creek. Hand thinning and burning has occurred over the last several years on this project. Most of the activity fuels have been burned. The State has used mastication treatments (use of equipment) to create a fuel break on State and private lands adjacent to the western edge of the project area. Fuels vary throughout the project area. Mountain brush, oak, pinyon and juniper in the lower to mid elevations, transitioning into mahogany and mixed conifer at the upper elevations. The district has the desire to broadcast burn up to 800 acres this year on the project. Fire managers plan to target 150 acres during this week’s spring entry. Ground ignition techniques will be used.
Fremont River Ranger District (Wayne County)
Park Ridge Prescribed Fire Project (#ParkRidgeRx) is located 15 miles southeast of Torrey and east of Highway 12 on Boulder Mountain. Burning has previously occurred within the project area over the last decade with much success. Fuels consist of a ponderosa overstory with oak and some juniper in the understory, and needle cast on the forest floor. This week, the district hopes to broadcast burn up to 200 acres of the understory using ground-based firing techniques.
Richfield Ranger District (Sevier County)
Old Woman South Prescribed Fire Project (#OldWomanSouthRx) is located east of Salina and southwest of Emery; located in the Salina Creek drainage and on the Old Woman Plateau. Nearly 5,000 acres of hand and mechanical work has been recently completed in the vicinity. This is a multi-agency effort between Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (private lands), and lands administered on the Fishlake National Forest. Approximately 6,400 acres within units 1-6 of the project area is targeted this spring. The district made its initial entry into the project area in early April and successfully burned 2,000 acres. These acres were primarily on the south and west aspects within the project area. Ground and aerial firing techniques have been and will continue to be utilized during this week’s target of 1,500 acres.
The use of prescribed fire on the Fishlake National Forest is intended to restore the forest to healthier conditions, reduce and remove dense vegetation that contributes to high-intensity wildfires, and protect our communities from unwanted catastrophic wildfires.
You can learn more about these projects and discover other fire-related information throughout the state of Utah by visiting www.UtahFireInfo.gov. Project updates can be found on Twitter @UtahWildfire. Please reference the project hashtag for updates. Also, check out @FishlakeNF on Twitter and like us on Facebook at U.S. Forest Service-Fishlake National Forest for forest-related facts, news, photos and updates.