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Show I- Bureau cf Land Management and Dixie Nat ional Forest officials lit the Sandy Creek prescribed burn on Apr. 8 and 9 near Panguitch. Prescribed Fires Near Panguitch PANGUITCH The Bureau of Land Management and Dixie National Na-tional Forest announced that each agency ignited prescribed fires near Panguitch this weekend. Beginning Apr. 7, the 1,110 acre Sandy Creek Prescribed Fire was lit over three days on BLM land five miles north of Panguitch and west of Hwy. 89. The second prescribed fire, Shu-make, Shu-make, burned 500 acres on Saturday on Dixie National Forest land, eight miles southwest of Panguitch and north of Hwy. 143. While smoke was visible from Panguitch and the surrounding areas, ar-eas, it was expected to disperse well to the north. Some haze settled as cooler temperatures approached in the evenings, but lifted with warmer daytime temperatures. The fires had similar objective because each was in an area where sagebrush, pinyon pine and juniper have encroached into grasslands. By using fire, new growth of grasses stimulated wildlife habitat and range for cattle. Watershed were also improved as sagebruch was reduced because the moisture content in the soil was greater with a variety of grasses and wildflowers. An upcoming prescribed fire call Vamey Griffen, will be lit sometime some-time this spring five miles northwest north-west of Escalante. It will burn within a 575 acre area to improve critical deer and elk habitat and stimulate growth of plants to control con-trol erosion. Smoke from this fire will be highly visible from surrounding sur-rounding areas and may settle in the evening hours, but will lift as temperatures tem-peratures increase in the morning. Spring is an optimum time to complete prescribed fires. Fire specialists spe-cialists are able to use cooler temperatures tem-peratures and higher humidity to assist in carrying out the fires successfully suc-cessfully and safely. New plants will sprout quickly following the fertilizing effects of these fires. In addition, prescribed fire specialists use natural barriers, including rocky outcroppings, sparse vegetation, streams and lakes, and even roads to design the plan for the fire. |