PORT ANGELES – You might see smoke coming from various parts of Olympic National Park starting Monday.

The Park’s Fire Management crews will be conducting prescribed burns of five large debris piles. The debris piles are located in the Lower Queets, Hoh, Sol Duc, and Elwha maintenance areas of the park. They say road clearing operations in the park generate large amounts of debris and pile burning is the most convenient and cost-effective method of disposal.

So, smoke will be visible at times from nearby trails and roadways while the burns are in progress. Signage will be used to notify the public, and smoke impacts are expected to be minimal.

With cooler weather and rain in the immediate forecast for the locations of the prescribed burns, there are currently no concerns with fires escaping.

No area closures are anticipated at this time.