Prescribed fires will be conducted in North Zone of Cherokee National Forest

Published 11:58 am Friday, November 25, 2022

Firefighters with the North Zone of the Cherokee National Forest are expecting a window of opportunity from mid-November through January 1 to conduct several prescribed burns, pending favorable weather and fuel conditions. This list is dynamic, but these are the areas most likely to be burned during this period.

In the Watauga Ranger District of Carter County, fires will be conducted in Carter County on 87 acres in Gum Hollow, south of the intersection of Dry Creek Road (Hwy. 361) and Gap Creek Road (Hwy. 362) on FSR5311; and on 72 acres of old growth seven miles northeast of Elizabethton, off Griffith Branch Road (FSR 5081) and Panhandle Road (FSR 202.)

In the Unaka Ranger District in Unicoi County, fires will be conducted on Green Knob between Rich Mountain and Green Knob along FS 190 Road approximately two miles southwest of Erwin; and Canlot, approximately five miles south of Erwin and eight miles east of Flag Pond, off Canlot Road.

Prescribed fires are implemented in accordance with a written burn plan that prescribes specific weather and smoke dispersion conditions to exist before crews proceed. Crews are responsible for igniting vegetation, monitoring control and spread of fire and smoke, ensuring fire is held by control features, and monitoring fire behavior. Prescribed fire is used in the Cherokee National Forest for several reasons, including to reduce fire hazards, improve habitat, and to help manage for desirable vegetation.

Forest Service managers say that because of changing weather conditions, it is difficult to say exactly what days burns will be conducted. In many cases the decision to burn cannot be made until the day of the burn. As weather conditions allow, prescribed burning operations will occur throughout the fall and winter months.

For more information, please contact the Watauga Ranger District at (423) 735-1500.