Forest Service Plans Prescribed Burns For Upper Peninsula

GLADSTONE, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service is planning to intentionally set fire to nearly 1,200 acres of land in the Michigan's Upper Peninsula this year as a way of helping the environment.

The 10 fires are scheduled from this spring and summer to early fall, depending on the weather. They will be set in both the east and west swaths of Hiawatha National Forest.

Rangers caution that smoke may be visible at times from these fires, and residents who live nearby can be alerted in advance if they have health concerns.

The Forest Service says the burns are being used as a tool to improve habitat in jack pine stands for some wildlife, and to reduce natural material on the ground that could be a fast-acting fuel for accidental fires.
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