LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) -- Two controlled burns within the Holly Springs National Forest are the apparent cause of smoke that has settled on parts of Oxford and the University of Mississippi campus, according to emergency management agency director David Shaw.
Shaw said officials with the U.S. Forest Service are supervising those two burns in the northeast quadrant of the county, north of Highway 6 and east of Highway 7, which involve more than 3,000 acres.
Those areas extend from County Road 202 to County Road 244 and from County Road 252 to County Road 2066, according to Shaw.
"They do this to some extent every year. I think they burn off a different section every year for various reasons," Shaw said. "It helps vegetation grow back quicker."
Stacy Lewis, interim district forester for the Mississippi Forestry Commission's northeast district, said a third, smaller controlled burn is taking place, involving about 50 acres.
Shaw said the state-controlled burn is located on Highway 331 near the Calhoun County line.
He said there have been no reports of these fires spreading beyond their confined locations.
