FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Smoke blanketed portions of Northwest Arkansas this afternoon due to prescribed burns in a pair of local counties.

According to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Franklin and Madison counties were among those participating. The Elkins Volunteer Fire Department made a social media post indicating that those two counties were the source of the smoke there.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m., the City of Fayetteville made a social media post announcing that a prescribed burn was also being conducted by the Boston Mountain Ranger District with the USDA Forest Service on 1,361 acres at Wedington Gap, north of W. Wedington Drive.

Both of the county-wide controlled burns are scheduled to end by midnight.