Second controlled burn successful at Lake Fayetteville

An 11-acre controlled burn conducted Friday at Lake Fayetteville was a success according to Lindsley Smith, the city’s communication director.

“It went well and accomplished our objectives of being a safe and controlled burn to prepare for the natural prairie grasses,” said Smith.

The fire was the final in a series of prescribed burns designed to restore a prairie area located north of the Environmental Study Center at the lake and to decrease the threat of a catastrophic wildfire in the future.

Oklahoma-based Chloeta Fire (CFI), conducted the burn. Early last week, personnel from CFI successfully completed a prescribed burn at the Lake Fayetteville dam, however, a larger burn at the prairie restoration site was canceled due to unfavorable weather conditions.

City-authorized controlled burns are only implemented under a strict set of weather and environmental parameters such as fuel, moisture, relative humidity and smoke dispersion indices.

For more information, call the city’s parks and recreation division at 479-444-3471.

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