MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS) - If you spot plumes of smoke rising over northern Murfreesboro this weekend, don’t panic—nothing is wrong. Wildland firefighters with Stones River National Battlefield and the National Park Service’s Mississippi River Zone Fire Management Crew will be carrying out prescribed burns across 40 acres at both Fortress Rosecrans and Redoubt Brannan on Saturday (2/28/2026). These burns are carefully planned, tightly controlled, and designed to protect the historic landscape, not threaten it.

Some areas of the park will temporarily close while crews work, but the visitor center and main park grounds will stay open during their regular 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours. Park officials say the burns will only move forward if weather conditions fall within a narrow safety window—something that ensures flames stay manageable and smoke disperses properly.

The purpose behind the burns is rooted in preservation. Fire helps native grasses thrive, and those grasses play a crucial role in stabilizing the earthen fortifications that have stood since the Civil War. Controlled burns also return nutrients to the soil and help keep invasive plants from taking over the battlefield’s historic terrain.

The Fortress Rosecrans burn area includes the earthworks and trail system within Old Fort Park, bordered by Lytle Creek, Overall Street, Golf Lane, the Fortress Rosecrans Greenway Trail, and the Old Fort Golf Course. The Redoubt Brannan burn area sits near West College Street, south of the roadway and east of the West Fork Stones River, with nearby landmarks including Brinkley Avenue, Military Park, and surrounding commercial and industrial properties.

For longtime residents, these burns are a familiar part of the park’s stewardship. For newcomers, they can be surprising—especially when smoke rises over busy corridors like Broad Street or Old Fort Parkway. But prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools the National Park Service uses to protect historic landscapes, improve habitat, and keep ecosystems healthy.

So if you see smoke drifting across the sky this Saturday, rest assured: it’s simply the Stones River National Battlefield doing the quiet, careful work of preserving history.