Fannin County prescribed burn starts Monday

HONEY GROVE, Texas (KXII) - If you see a lot of smoke coming from northern Fannin County, don’t panic or call the fire department.

This week the U.S. Forest Service, an agency with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is in the Caddo National Grasslands fighting fire with fire - wildfires, that is.

“The purpose of the project is to do vegetation management out here. To lessen the fuel loading, to improve wildlife habitat,” said Jeff Stoney, District Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service in the Caddo National Grasslands.

Stoney said fires started by lightning strike or an escaped campfire won’t have fuel to spread in the grasslands because it’s all been burned in their project.

“Having reduced fuel loading in large blocks of ground serves in itself as a fire barrier,” said Stoney.

Around 8,700 acres of land will be intentionally burned.

“These red lines outline our burn blocks. This is a burn block 1. This is a burn block 2. And that’s a burn block 3,” said Stoney.

Crews began prep work 2 weeks ago to build fire lines around the perimeter of the burn blocks which contain the prescribed burn.

“Basically putting a fire line along our unit boundaries. Once that fire line is complete then we bring in our burn teams,” said Stoney.

Starting Monday a helicopter deployed over block 1, dropping a device which ignites the prescribed burn.

“So they drop a firing device. It’s a little ball that gets ignited as it’s falling out of the aircraft,” said Stoney.

Crew members came from other national forests and grasslands in Texas, as well as from Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Bois D’Arc, Coffee Mill and West Lake Crockett campgrounds are closed now through Friday afternoon.

Anyone with questions about their project this week is encouraged to contact Stoney or the Forest Service at (940) 627-5475.

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