Prescribed burn in the works

St. Ignace — The Forest Service is notifying local media and the public of possible prescribed burning activity in the near future. Current weather forecasts suggest suitable burning weather may occur in the next several days. If conditions are not right, the burn will be postponed until more favorable conditions arise.

The Forest Service’s St. Ignace/Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District is preparing for the Wild Carp North prescribed burn. The 60-acre burn would be near Rock Rapids about 5 miles north of Brevort and about 5 miles south of Trout Lake adjacent to Forest Service Roads 3755, 3755A and 3458. The burn is located at T43N R5W sec 30 and 31. A map of the prescribed burn area is available online.

During active burning, smoke may be visible from US Highway 2 and other points throughout Mackinac County. Due to safety concerns, the fire will only be executed in wind conditions that minimize the likelihood of reduced visibility due to smoke on US Highway 2. Though unlikely, smoke may settle in some areas in the evening hours. If you have health problems that may be aggravated by smoke production, please contact Brenda Dale, Zone Fire Management Officer, at (906) 643-7900 x127, and you will be personally notified prior to any burning activities.

The burn, located in a mature red pine stand in the Carp River Wild and Scenic River corridor. The resource objectives for this unit are to re-establish a fire regime on the landscape, to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, and to maintain or increase biological diversity on the forest floor.

This project will improve the overall health and vigor of vegetation and wildlife habitat on the Forest. Openings also serve as natural firebreaks by keeping large accumulations of hazardous fuels away from private homes and property boundaries. Such openings can burn frequently, but are consistent in only carrying or sustaining low intensity wildfires.

Firebreak areas help to minimize the spread of larger, high intensity/catastrophic fires. They also provide safe opportunities for wildland fire-fighters to suppress large fires and/or minimize their impact to surrounding resources.

This safety aspect is critical when dealing with fires that occur in areas with wildland-urban interfaces that inherently have higher risks and resource values at stake. Openings also help to mitigate those risks and minimize the loss to resource values (i.e. timber products, recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat, private property, and utilities).