The USDA Forest Service has scheduled burns planned for four of Alabama’s national forests.

The prescribed burns will take place on some 110,586 acres at Bankhead, Conecuh, Talladega and Tuskegee national forests over the next six months. The burn schedule will depend on weather, USDA said.

The prescribed burns are low-intensity fired ignited by trained personnel to remove things such as vegetation and dead wood that would enable wildfires to burn hotter and longer.

“Applying prescribed fire on the land at the right place, at the right time, under the right conditions benefits the land and the surrounding communities,” USDA said in a statement.

The amount to be burned includes:

• Bankhead National Forest – 21,500 acres in Winston and Lawrence counties
• Conecuh National Forest – 41,586 acres in Escambia in Covington
• Talladega National Forest- 40,000 acres in Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne and Talladega counties.
• Talladega National Forest – 35,000 acres in Bibb, Dallas, Perry, Tuscaloosa, Hale, and Chilton counties.
• Tuskegee National Forest  –  4,000 acres in Macon County.

Smoke may be visible in various parts of the national forests during the burns and drivers in those areas are advised to use their low beam lights if they encounter smoke on the road. You can follow the Forest Service – National Forests in Alabama on Facebook or Twitter for prescribed burn notifications or visit www.fs.usda.gov/alabama under the “Know Before You Go” section.