Photograph: Sweetwater Protect burn

Smoke rises from the Sweetwater Wetlands, the place Tucson Water and Tucson Hearth Division held a managed burn on Wednesday morning.

The purposefully set fireplace close to Interstate 10 on the Northwest Facet started at 8 a.m. and can final till about 5 p.m., Tucson Water stated in a information launch.

Together with firefighters and Tucson Water officers, wildlife managers have been readily available to take care of animals pushed from the wetlands by fireplace. Earlier than the burn, biologists used drums and different noises to drive animals from the basins.

Anybody delicate to smoke or ash ought to keep away from the realm, officers stated, or take precautionary measures. Through the burn, folks near the managed burn website might even see smoke and light-weight ash, and scent burning vegetation.

In years previous, residents have inundated 911 with calls reporting smoke within the space, and TFD has repeatedly needed to urge them to stay calm.

This 12 months, the burn lined a smaller space than beforehand, with just one basin being ignited. In 2022, two of the 4 basins have been burned.

The burning of the basin removes useless vegetation that may defend aquatic mosquito larvae throughout their improvement, and the removing of the useless thatch makes the applying of a low grade larvicide simpler.

The Sweetwater Wetlands burn has been carried out yearly since 1999, and serves as an essential a part of Tucson Water’s Mosquito Abatement Program and is a vital open-area coaching train for regional wildlands firefighters, officers stated.