Photo of low to moderate intensity fire on the Jaybird Prescribed Fire. Credit: USDA Forest Service by Ben Crum
Jaybird ignitions complete, Mill starts next
SILVER CITY, NM, Oct. 18, 2023 – Fire crews wrapped up ignitions on the Jaybird prescribed fire in the Signal Peak area near Meadow Creek and Jaybird Canyon Wednesday. Crews will remain on the project to patrol for changes in fire behavior and to check for smoldering vegetation near containment lines. The Jaybird prescribed fire involved 2,600 acres of hazardous fuels treatment.
Forest resource specialists installed four air quality monitors around the forest to monitor smoke impacts from the prescribed fire operations. While smoke was visible in Silver City and outlying areas Wednesday evening, the air quality monitors showed good air quality on the https://fire.airnow.gov/ website. Smoke-sensitive individuals and those with respiratory or heart disease should take precautionary measures.
Next, fire crews plan to begin the 960-acre Mill prescribed fire located west of NM Highway 15 in the Sheep Corral area. It is adjacent to the north side of Forest Road 282 (Sheep Corral Road) north to Forest Road 876 and west to Forest Road 3131F. For firefighter and public safety, forest officials have issued the Mill Prescribed Burn Area Closure.
Thank you for your patience during the temporary closures on NM Highway 15 and the Sheep Corral area. Fire managers expect NM Highway 15 to remain closed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 20.
Prescribed fires are an effective tool for restoring fire-dependent ecosystems and reducing the risk of high-severity wildfires. Fire managers use prescribed fire to improve forest health, remove hazardous fuels, increase firefighter safety, enhance wildlife habitat, protect communities and lower future fire intensity.
Landscape treatments such as the Jaybird and Mill prescribed fires align with the Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy, which aims to increase the use of fire on the landscape as well as other treatments to improve forest health.
Please visit the Gila National Forest website athttps://www.fs.usda.gov/gila