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Prescribed Fire Continues Next Week on the Bradshaw Ranger District with the Groom RX

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PRESCOTT, AZ, September 29, 2023 – Fire Managers on the Prescott National Forest plan to continue with prescribed burning in the Prescott Basin on the Bradshaw Ranger District south of Prescott, Arizona. Ignitions are planned to start on Monday, October 2, 2023, and will continue through the week, depending on weather conditions and resource availability. Several burns are planned east of Highway 89, west of Senator Highway, north of Wolf Creek Road, and south of Goldwater Lake on national forest lands.  Horse Camp Loop Trail #383 will be closed, and part of Wolf Creek Loop Trail #384 will be closed for the duration of the Groom Creek RX.  Forest Road 707 off Lower Wolf Creek Road will be closed, and recreationist are asked to avoid the dispersed camping sites along Wolf Creek Road, Upper Wolf Creek Campground and Horse Camp.  Recreational users can stay informed on daily prescribed fire activities and temporary trail closures by checking the Prescott National Forest website or following us on social media where daily information on current fire actives will be shared. 

Three remaining prescribed burns are planned: Groom RX approximately 1,092; Ponderosa Park RX – approximately 1,012 acres; and the Indian Creek RX – approximately 1,121 acres (see attached map).

This week the Goldwater RX was completed with 1,185 acres treated.  Resources will continue to be on scene through the weekend and into next week monitoring and patrolling.

We would like to thank the community for your patience and understanding as we work to treat hazardous fuels and restore resilient landscapes.  These types of prescribed fires will also help provide areas where we have a higher probability of safely stopping a wildfire in the future.

A variety of ground and aerial resources are being used to meet the project objectives. Expect smoke impacts to be light and visible from multiple locations including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and surrounding area communities.  As nighttime temperatures cool, smoke can linger in drainages and valleys.  In the interest of safety, forest visitors are reminded to obey all traffic signs and use caution when traveling in the vicinity of prescribed burns as firefighters and fire-related traffic will be in the area.

Additionally, Fire Managers will be staffing an information booth where the public can stop by, look at maps, get current information on the burns, ask questions, and better understand what it means to live in a community with prescribed fire. The information booth will be located on the east side of the Prescott Fire Department Station 71, 333 White Spar Road, Prescott, AZ on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and in Prescott Valley at Findlay Toyota Center 3201 Main St. Prescott Valley, AZ on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. 

Prescott National Forest’s land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health and the strategy includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Using low to moderate fire behavior, we can reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland-urban interface and increases ecosystem and community resilience.  Reducing hazardous fuels will help reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire to the public, adjacent private property, and communities.  

The project also furthers the goals of the Forest Service’s national Wildlife Crisis Strategy (https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildfire-crisis) to restore forests so they are less vulnerable to extreme wildfires that can risk lives and property, impact watersheds and wildlife habitat.

All prescribed fire activity is dependent on the availability of personnel and equipment, weather, fuels, conditions that minimize smoke impacts as much as possible, and approval from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (www.azdeq.gov).

Messages and trail closures will be posted on social media when prescribed fires are ignited on the Prescott National Forest:

For fire information please call 928-925-1111 or stay up to date on Prescott National Forest news by checking the Prescott National Forest website (https://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott/) or the social media links above.