Kevin D. VanDuser
If all conditions are right a planned prescribed burn will be conducted between January-March 2023 at Possum Kingdom State Park. People in the area should prepare for smoky conditions. Reducing your speed and using your low-beam headlights while driving will increase your safety if you must drive in smoke.
Prescribed burns, once called controlled burns are a management tool used to restore forest and prairie habitats. The burn also reduces available fuel such as dead trees, leaf litter, and dry vegetation to reduce future wildfires. Historically, regular burnings have occurred naturally by sparks from lightning strikes. Native American tribes set fires to grassland areas to herd buffalos and other wildlife over embankments as a vital source of meat, hides for clothing and shelter, and horns and bones for making tools.
A prescribed burn takes into account the local weather, personnel and equipment required, and fire break locations. Priority one is public and firefighter safety. Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel who have extensive training work with park staff and local fire and emergency officials to carry out the burn.
Contact PK State Park at 1 940 549 1803 or go online to TPW- Possum Kingdom State Park for updates, information, and an aerial map of locations to be burned.
