Prescribed burn at Draper Lake delayed until fall

(April 8, 2008) - A prescribed burn at Lake Stanley Draper announced earlier has been delayed until fall 2008. The City of Oklahoma City Utilities Department requested the Forestry Services Division of Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to conduct and control the burn activities on about 564 acres south of I-240 at the Douglas Boulevard exit.

Weather conditions did not allow the burn to take place before vegetation became green and growing.  Also, wildlife soon will begin the nesting season.  The fall prescribed burn will be announced once a more precise time can be determined.

“It will be impossible to give the exact day the burn will take place,” said Mark Goeller, ODAFF assistant director of forestry.  “Moisture and wind conditions must meet specific requirements before we burn this area.”

The prescribed burn will reduce the wild fire risk by managing the underlying brush and fuel and provide better views of the lake from surrounding roads.  Also, a prescribed burn will improve the overall health of the native forest, allow better native ground cover growth to reduce erosion and improve the habitat for many varieties of wild life, including the black-capped vireo, an endangered bird found at the lake.