Prescribed burn to be performed today at Trail of Tears State Park

A prescribed burn on 1,300 acres of Trail of Tears State Park will be conducted today, and officials from the Missouri Department of Conservation are asking motorists along Highway 177 near the park to use extra caution.

The fire, designed to encourage new growth and control the amount of fuel available to wildfires, will be lit in part with aerial ignition. Flames may be visible to highway traffic, biologist Bob Gillespie said in a news release.

The department is asking motorists to avoid blocking traffic if they stop to watch the burn. The burn is a joint effort of the conservation agency, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service.