Here’s why you might see smoke coming from the local mountains near Anza

Wednesday, smoke could be seen coming from the San Jacinto mountains which caused alarm for many.

This is not good… lots of smoke coming from the Idyllwild direction. Watch #kmirnews at 4:30 for more details or go to kmir.com

A post shared by Mike Everett (@mikeeverettweather) on Jan 31, 2018 at 12:55pm PST

Not a good sign

A post shared by Bill Langill (@langill57) on Jan 31, 2018 at 12:26pm PST

The smoke was from planned, controlled burns from officials with the U.S. Forrest Service.

Our first prescribed burn of the season is planned for Wed,, Jan 31. Details:

– Location: Thomas Mountain, San Jacinto Mtns (near Anza, CA)
– Time: Approx. 9am (could last through weekend)
– Why: Ecological restoration to reduce fuels, protect communities, restore forest health pic.twitter.com/UvjDJMUhLT

— San Bernardino National Forest (@SanBernardinoNF) January 30, 2018

The test fire for the Thomas Mountain Prescribed Burn has been initiated. All units on scene. pic.twitter.com/cHB1I22Ajc

— San Bernardino National Forest (@SanBernardinoNF) January 31, 2018

The first prescribed burn of the season is to reduce the chance of future fires by “reducing fuels” and to restore forrest health.