The New River Valley Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is planning a controlled burn north of Blacksburg today, weather permitting.

The burn will be in a 660-acre area south of Craig Creek Road and north of Brush Mountain Road between Big Ford Hollow and Hazelnut Hollow.

Controlled burns are generally conducted to prevent wildfires by reducing dead vegetation in the forest and prevent overcrowding of live vegetation. Barbara Walker, a spokeswoman with the Forest Service, said this burn is being done to regenerate table mountain pine and pitch pine.

For more information on the burn, contact the Forest Service's Blacksburg office at 552-4641 or its Wytheville office at (276) 228-5551.

-- Greg Esposito