Controlled burns planned in Teanaway, Liberty areas

Prescribed fire helps restore the forest and remove unhealthy woody fuel build-up near Naches in 2016.

The U.S. Forest Service is planning controlled burns in the Cle Elum and Naches ranger districts starting in April, according to a news release.

Residents and visitors can expect to see and smell some smoke each day during burning operations. Burns in this area are planned at:

• Liberty, 210 acres
• Orion, 345 acres
• Teanaway, 300 acres

NACHES RANGER DISTRICT

• Angel, near state Route 410, 100 acres
• Dry Ridge, near Nile Valley, 300 acres
• Canteen, near Mount Clemans, 1,000 acres

The Forest Service is planning prescribed burns on 10,000 acres across the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest this spring. Frequent, low-intensity fire helps forest health and better protects communities, Forest Service officials said in the release.

“Summer after summer, megafires teach us that there is no future in Eastern Washington without fire and smoke,” Forest Fire Staff Officer Rob Allen said in the release. “Prescribed fire is a large part of the solution for how we need to live with fire in our forests and communities.”