Several national forests across the state are planning, or have started, prescribed burns.
Cathie Schmidlin, with the U.S. Forest Service, said as of September 14, approximately 67,000 acres have already been treated.
"Some forests were able to do some prescribed burning during the summer, which normally doesn’t occur," she said. "Normally, our prescribed burning is done in the spring and fall."
Schmidlin said summer storms gave fire managers a head start this year. She estimated another 10,000 acres of forest will be treated over the next few months. Prescribed burns aim to remove potentially dangerous fuels that could lead to a devastating wildfire.
