LOGAN — Motorists driving through Logan Canyon, US-89, may notice heavy amounts of smoke around Beaver Mountain, as authorities clear dead timber in the area. The prescribed burns are taking place Wednesday and Thursday.
Cache County Fire Marshal Jason Winn said crews from the Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands will be burning slash piles near the ski resort and Beaver Creek area.
“There will be somebody with those piles,” explained Winn. “Folks that are coming through the canyon don’t need to call 911 and report the smoke because the state will have people up there with those fires”
The slash piles are made up of timber and underbrush that were cleared and gathered last summer. Burning them now will help reduce fire danger as temperatures get warmer and rain decreases.
Winn said the slash piles are cleared this time of year because the threat of a forest fire right now is really low.
“This time of year up there, it is pretty green so there is not really a threat of [the fires] getting out of control.”
During the prescribed burns, crews will be limiting access to remote areas where the fires are burning.
Forestry Service don’t allow wood hauling in Logan Canyon, maybe if they allowed wood hauling there would be no need for prescribed burning.