Prescribed Burn Planned for Grandfather Ranger District

The U.S. Forest Service plans to conduct a 3,100-acre prescribed burn in the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, starting on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 through Thursday March 10, 2016. The agency will conduct the three-day burn at Roses Mountain, north of Morganton, N.C. and south of Table Rock. The objectives of the burn are fuel reduction and habitat restoration.

The Forest Service is conducting the burn as part of the Grandfather Restoration Project, an 8-year project designed to restore 40,000 acres of the Grandfather Ranger District. The project is restoring fire-adapted ecosystems by enhancing conditions for a variety of native plants and wildlife. The Grandfather Restoration Project also works on controlling non-native species, restoring watersheds, and protecting hemlocks against hemlock woolly adelgids.

Operations will begin Tuesday afternoon and last through Thursday afternoon. The public can expect to see smoke in the area through Friday. Smoke may be visible from Highway 181. The Mountains to Sea Trail from Steels Creek to New Gingercake will be closed during operations. Roses Creek Rd (FS 210) will also be closed.

The safety of the public and firefighters is the highest priority during a prescribed burn. The public is asked to heed signs posted at trailheads and roads and to stay away from burn areas and closed roads and trails.

The NC Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Department of Transportation, and Burke County Emergency Management are assisting in the prescribed burn.

 

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