UPDATE: Controlled burn work on La Crosse bluffs finished

UPDATE: According to La Crosse County Emergency Services, the controlled burn on Dobson Prairie this weekend is finished.

It made the notification just before 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Any fires at this point that the public thinks may be unintentional should be reported.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WIZM) – Residents may see smoke today coming from the bluffs overlooking La Crosse.

It’s under control, though.

Ken Damaschke, the Supervisor with La Crosse County Emergency Services, said that the smoke is from controlled burns happening by Dobson Trails near Thistledown Drive.

That’s located to the south, or to the right of Grandad Bluff Park as you look at the big flag in the park.

Late last month, the city’s Park and Rec Department sent out a release saying that professional contractors are doing controlled burns on the bluffs to help increase native vegetation on the prairies.

Burning dead grass and vegetation makes it easier for native seeds to get to the soil then grow.

According to the city, the contractors plan controlled burns at three other sites between now and the end of April when the weather allows for them.

They are the Stry Prairie on Miller Bluff, and two locations in Hixon Forest-Lookout Savannah and the Zoerb Bluff Prairie.

Those areas might be closed to the public for a while around the time of a controlled burn.