Prescribed burns are scheduled to last through the rest of Friday in the Flagstaff Ranger District and through next week in the Mogollon Rim District.
Several hundred acres in both areas will see these low intensity fires.
Coconino National Forest Spokesperson Brady Smith says those ecosystems rely on small burns that can help prevent major wildfires.
"What happens is a human-caused fire, whether it’s from an abandoned campfire or other means, it could start an ignition on a very warm and windy day and then it could become a catastrophic fire that moves across the landscape very quickly," Smith said.
A potentially 10-day-wet-weather system is also forecasted in the high country starting Saturday, with higher chances over some of the burn areas.
