U.S. Forest Service conducting prescribed burn today

If you’re driving on I-44 today and you see smoke in the distance, no, it’s not a forest fire.

There is a prescribed burn conducted today (3/19/23) in and around the Kaintuck Trail system to the southwest of Rolla.

It’s a large area that includes the following locations:

* Crooked Creek on the Salem Ranger District
* Little Cedar Mountain on the Fredericktown Unit of the Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District
* Panorama Unit on the Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs Ranger District
* Elm Springs on the Houston Unit of the Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek Ranger District.

This 4,000 acre prescribed burn operation is creating a smoke column that is visible from Rolla and other nearby towns.