MOSES LAKE — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will have a prescribed burn west of Moses Lake and south of Interstate 90 during the first week of March. The 266-acre burn is scheduled for Monday, but will be dependent on weather conditions, said Staci Lehman of the Eastern Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The department will push it back a day or two if necessary.

The controlled burn will prevent wildfires and open up vital breeding areas for the endangered northern leopard frog that lives in that area only, Lehman said.

The department urges passersby to not be alarmed.

“There could be smoke, there could be flames. It’s not a wildfire,” she said. “We just want to relieve the stress on first responders so they don’t get inundated with calls.”

(This news item was updated with new information Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, moving the burn date a week later.)