Prescribed burn set for Sunday if weather conditions permit

More smoke will be on the horizon Sunday if weather conditions allow a prescribed burn near Martinez Lake to take place as planned.

The burn is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on 14 acres in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge near the refuge headquarters, said Ken Edwards, the refuge manager. He said the burn should last less than an hour.

Dead cattails will be burned to promote new growth of vegetation that will provide habitat for endangered wildlife such as the Yuma Clapper Rail, he said.

Area residents and passers-by may notice smoke from the fire.

Refuge personnel previously cleared more than 600 acres of vegetation in the refuge a month ago. That fire blanketed parts of Yuma with smoke.

During the course of that burn, increasing wind caused the fire to jump to the California side of the Colorado River and burned 200 acres in the Picacho State Recreation Area, prompting complaints from nearby residents.

Edwards said Sunday's burn will proceed as planned only if weather conditions are such that the fire will not get out of hand.